Gearbutt
by ThatUnholyAfro
Summary: Pandora. Home to lots of guns. Lots of violence. And lots of morally ambiguous characters. What's room for one more?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Borderlands nor the cover image. They belong to their respective owners. I hope that's pretty evident.**

 **Chapter 1: Intro**

* * *

I couldn't stop myself from letting slip that groan of agony. It'd be the first time in a while since I felt this way; lying on the ground, gasping for air, feeling like I was gonna die.

Man this hurt...

This hurt A LOT. The way I fell off my tower - it'd knocked the wind outta me completely. The damn snow bank didn't even soften my fall. In fact, it probably made it twice as bad because now that massive hole in my right shoulder was throbbing... As if it didn't ALREADY feel like hell...

In case you couldn't already figure it out, I got shot. But you see, the thing is. I've been shot _before._ No biggie, my shields always covered my butt. Hell, on good nights, Spooner would take a couple pop shots at me, just to see if I was always alert.

I wish I'd appreciated his attitude before. Probably would've avoided this whole scenario if I didn't get so pissed off about him shooting at me.

But he always used that handgun of his, not a friggin' sniper rifle! And surely not a sniper rifle that shattered my shield AND catapulted me off my perch!

How the hell was I still even alive? I didn't have a clue. If I was honestly speaking, I should've ended up like Spooner. I tossed his arm off my bloody and wet chest after that thought though... Sorry, Spooner.

In that exact moment, I even hurled. It wasn't light either... I think my organs shifted a little. It didn't even feel slightly good like it was as if you ate too much. It burned. I moaned in pain and squirmed. Some of it got on me too... I was a mess.

And it was all because of that girl...

I don't know where she came from or why she was here. I never saw her around before. She couldn't possibly have been one of Flynt's... No. A cute girl like that? Flynt was a bastard. He would've kept her all to himself.

She moved with intent. Determination. Like she had to go through us or face something worse than death. Whatever her motives were, she slaughtered us.

"Fu...ck..." I rarely curse. More so out loud. But I was _hurt._ Real bad. So I excused myself.

 **"AHHHHGG-"** _ **BOOM!**_

Shoot, that was probably Brain, judging from that violent, blood-curdling scream. Double shoot, that explosion was really close by. Which means that girl was still in the camp.

I had to get up, but my muscles wouldn't obey. It was... frightening, not being able to move. More frightening than that girl or her damn robot. I could probably outrun her... if I hadn't been _shot._

Hide? Could I hide? I was hiding now, amongst the corpses and bodies and snow. Even then I still felt unsafe, which is putting that lightly too. Pretty sure I was gonna die if I stayed here any longer.

Grunting, I sat up. Everywhere, my mates, my buds, my friends. Dead. Torn limb from limb. Blown up. Roasted into ash.

And yet it didn't bother me that much. I mean, I liked these guys but... eh.

I heard cheering. A single female voice. That girl was still near. Knowing that I staggered my butt towards my tower. Had to get a few things first.

Climbing that ladder was actually not as hard as I thought it would've been, though it did take twice as long. My shoulder was numb, probably from the cold, so it didn't kill me as I reached my nest.

There was some blood, mine, painting the floor and bed. My nude magazines were completely ruined from it.

That freaking girl, man.

Over in the corner, I found my rifle, stained a bit with red and resting halfway under the bed. When I got knocked off, I accidentally dropped it. Sarcasm intended... I was shot by a miniature cannon for heaven's sake.

Crap. I wasn't a lefty. Plus Jakobs Sniper Rifles packed a heavy punch... which meant I wasn't gonna be able to fire my baby with one hand. Even if I did, I wasn't gonna hit anything. Where the hell did I put those needles?

I was so close! Had her bot lined up in my sights... Then I saw her and... and... I just screwed up. Her face in my scope. All I had to do was pull the trigger. But I didn't, and she saw me.

Funny thing is... maybe it's from the blood loss, but I'm pretty sure she hesitated too... I didn't _instantly_ get shot. About one or two seconds passed before I was whipped back. Why would she hesitate? I don't know. She had a freaking death bot and shouted "Murder time!" with a grin on her face. Who knew what those psychos thought anymore.

She didn't even look like a psycho with her pigtails and skirts and stockings annnd... boots. What the hell was this girl?!

 _ **RATA-TAT-TAT! PA-PAP!**_

More gunfire, from the back of the camp now, which meant whoever that girl was, is about to face Juggernaut. I found my rejuvenators too, so I could probably go back there and help him try to kill her.

Or I could run...

Jabbing the needle through my skin, directly into a vein. The red liquid began its work, giving me some time to think. Juggernaut was our leader for obvious reasons. He was big, tougher than any bully mong and had a little secret.

He was _fast_. Like really, really **_fast_**. He didn't show it at first but he could cover a couple yards in less than a SECOND. It was pretty crazy to see but also kinda cool.

If I helped him, we both could probably take that girl down. We had a chance. Juggernaut would distract the robot. I've seen him take so much worse and all I needed was one good shot on that girl and her brains would've been splattered across the snow.

Or I could run... That was a good idea too.

 **"YOU! LITTLE! BITCH!"** There was the big guy himself, just like I called. He probably had his shotty in one hand and an assault rifle in another. I didn't hear him gloating, so that meant the girl with the bot was still alive.

That or he was silently basking in his victory. I wasn't stupid though. Juggernaut was never quiet about anything.

 _ **"I'M GONNA TEAR YOUR TINY EYES OUT!"**_ Case in point.

If she was ballsy enough to fight through the grunts, me, Spooner, Brain, AND Juggernaut?

I don't know where she came from, or who she was for that matter but I was out of there, after some new clothes of course. After THAT, though...

Sorry, Jug. You're on your own, I thought, glancing over where the smoke was the heaviest, gunfire still cracking the air, before grabbing my goggles and mask. Hauling the Jakobs rifle on my back, and snatching a few more rejuvenators, I leaped down from my tower... and walked out the front gate of my camp...

Well... it wasn't my camp anymore.

* * *

 **End of Chapter**

 **Author's Note: So here's my little experiment on first person narrative. Thought I'd try it out since Pandora is a great place for adventure and anarchy (that foreshadowing though). What do you guys think? And to any of my old readers, I didn't quit my other story. Don't worry.**

 **I'll see you all next chapter, though. Have a spectacular day!**


	2. Gaige

**Chapter 2: Gaige**

* * *

"Best. Robot. Ever!" Literally! Who could even stand up to him? Not these guys anyway. Nah. None of them really could hurt Deathtrap, let alone me. Funny. If you told me I'd be doing this a few years ago, I would've probably smacked you. Yet here I am! Kicking ass and taking names! Er... Well, not really taking names, more like taking batteries.

Where was that battery anyway?

"Watch my back," I ordered him. Him being Deathtrap. That legless, hovering killing machine? The one with three feet long claws and spikes coming out his head? Yeah. That's my greatest invention ever! Four raids in and I've yet to meet the guy who could stand up to D.T. and live. That was counting the buzzards, auto-cannons, and even _two_ badass Bullymonglers. Deathtrap sliced his way through.

Don't get me wrong, I helped where I could, scoring shots where I was able. If I even _could._ He was really crazy with his claws - sometimes I didn't even have to really do anything.

And then there was me, high school uh... drop out I guess... BUT greatest engineer alive! Nothing but a sleek, awesome Hyperion Sniper Rifle and an ugly, definitely not-so-sleek looking handgun I pulled off a dead bandit the first five minutes I was on this planet.

Quick note: Definitely have to find a replacement handgun. I can't hit anything with this piece of junk.

Speaking of junk, where the heck are the batteries?! Nothing but scrap metal, empty bullet cases and... "Uh..." One porno mag. Friggin' bandits. They always have a bunch of these lying around.

Deathtrap hummed, making me whirl around, that stupid pistol in my cybernetic hand. There was nothing there that I could see, and he was facing me still.

Weird. He never did that before. Must've been another bug in his system. Quick note: Gotta get all those bugs out of him.

"Uggh-ghhh..." Goddamn, that scared the crap outta me! I thought we killed that gu- wait a minute... Deathtrap always finishes off a bad guy... except in those cases when my shields are getting wrecked but this guy was still alive.

 **wbb-bb-bb-bb... Wrr- SHINK!**

Well, not anymore, but that was concerning. If Deathtrap was starting to slip up and let some of these jerkwads live then I had to re-calibrate him.

Ugh. I did not to go through that tedious process again. First time I did it? D.T. almost melted Claptrap. I mean, yeah he was annoying at times... Crucial times... but he didn't deserve that.

I sighed... It was gonna be another long day... Maybe I could ask Hammerlock for some help. He always had a knack for easier solutions.

 _ **Thud!**_

"Owch!" These damn shields! They can stop things like bullets and fire but couldn't stop me from bumping into a table?! Friggin' Pandora.

...

Well... I wanted to come here... I mean... Yeah... I should just stop thinking about it.

D.T. hummed again. "What's up, babe?" I turned to face him. Maybe he actually took some heavier shots than I thought, after all, that Juggernaut guy was on drugs, stims, whatevs. Every time we thought we took him down, he stood up.

That's probably why D.T. was humming. The guy was probably still alive. If you could ignore the fact that he was a just meat and blood scattered across the floor then yeah I guess you can say he was.

Only my lovely bot wasn't looking back. He was looking at the entrance. Crap, more bandits I think. Aiming my awesome Hyperion rifle. I scouted for s'more heads to pop and I only found one...

He was also walking away from the camp. Wait a sec... I thought I killed that guy...! Apparently he was lucky to survive the hit and D.T.'s enemy scanner.

Definitely gotta re-calibrate him. Gotta remember that.

Anyway.

 _ **Click!**_

...

 _ **Click! Click!**_

Quick note: Carry more sniper rifle rounds.

I hope this guy knew just how lucky he was. Cause ohhh boyyyy if I had one round in here... I would've chased after him, but the way he limped off, he was probably gonna bleed out and die somewhere out there.

Or the bullymongs would smell the blood and finish him off.

Or hell, his own bandit buddies will when they find him. Either way, the guy was _screwed_ ~! Plus I had to find the damn batteries, which would've been a lot easier if I stopped getting distracted...

...

Oh. They were right there on the table I hit... Heh heh... Whoops.

I wonder if Deathtrap was fully self-aware, would he just look at me in disappointment sometimes. Like seriously shake his head and just dematerialize. That'd be funny.

But Nah, I didn't give him that. He was already scary enough without the ability to think. Plus, I called him "babe". God forbid if he figured out what romance was. I didn't need a killer robot to try and make out with me.

He was still pretty cool regardless and I should really start heading back and stop getting distracted.

"Let's go, D.T.! Up, up!" I raised my arms, and he hoisted me onto his massive shoulders. Perks of being the creator? Free rides. Oh yeah.

While D.T. cruised passed the ANARCHY YEAH! that we made, I wondered if we'd run into that guy that got away, but he seemed to have vanished. Poof. No trace of him.

Shoot. I hope he wasn't some sort of infiltrator... I mean, he had a sniper rifle. He didn't shoot once but he had one if I remembered right.

He could pop my shields right now. Probably would've taken him a few shots but you could've seen me comin' from a mile away. All this blue and white landscape and me and D.T. in our... colorful attire...

Okay, so I've been wearing the same clothes for two weeks now. I've washed them! Honest! I didn't have time to pack so well is all... Hammerlock was nice enough to give me some clothes. Why did he have girl clothes, I have no idea. I didn't ask. Probably should though considering the coincidental circumstances... I was on my own for a bit... till Claptrap and he came along...

...

It was fine... Everything is fine... Haha... I'm totally not in over my head or anything. I'm the greatest engineer alive...

I got this... I freaking got this... Just gotta take my mind off it.

Quick note: Recalibrate Deathtrap ASAP.

* * *

 **End of Chapter**

 **Author's note: Here's the second chapter, also very short... I'm working on that, just feeling this out, you know? I did some researching and tried to capture Gaige and her inner thoughts as accurately as possible while still incorporating into this egg of a plotline. I dunno maybe I'll switch it up between the boy and her. What do you guys think?**

 **I guess I'll see you all next chapter too. Have an excellent day!**


	3. Sweet, sweet Pandora

**Chapter 3: Sweet, sweet Pandora**

* * *

Oh. No. Freaking. Way...

I must have done something pretty bad by going on the bandit raid the other day on Flynt's group. Maybe they might've been actually on their way to feed starving woman or children or something...

Nah... Captain Flynt was a jerk.

Which meant that god must hate me, which is pretty fair considering what I had done... I'd counter that with, "my mates have done so much worse than me" but they're all dead so...

"Easy..." That Adult Bullymong was sizing me up for a second... Just a second...

 _ **Bang! Cli-bang!**_

One down. The other two began moving up on me. Swinging my rifle around to my right, I hip fired it, jumping to my side to avoid the second adult bullymong, while striking the third in the head.

Jakobs Co. were liars. This rifle was clearly made by them... Still didn't kill that thing in one hit... But eh, it wasn't like I expected them to.

 _ **Cli-bang!**_

Just one left now. He was big, probably the biggest of the three. He was also the slowest. I realized I could outrun him. My boots clacking on the cold, dry ice riddled floor as I backstepped.

Leveling the rifle until the barrel was pointed right between his eyes. I pulled the trigger.

 _ **Bang!**_

He reeled back in pain as the fur on his head burned.

 ** _Cli-bang!_**

I don't miss an opportunity. Another shot to the head.

Okay... I'll admit. I expected it to die in two hits to the head. He didn't. Instead, he slammed his fists - all four of them, into the ground. I fell back with a grunt.

With an earthshaking roar, the beast leaped up, my heart raced. It was gonna crush me through my shields.

 _ **Bang!**_

I still rolled to the side, screaming in pain as my shoulder throbbed again. That wound hadn't fully healed yet. Panting, I rose to my feet, rifle in my right hand as the brute animal laid on his stomach, unmoving... Dead. I whistled. Two close calls with death now. Sure my heart raced, but that was just me getting pumped up. I was actually pretty level-headed.

"What the..." Something peculiar caught my eye. Besides the fact that the bullymong dying meant his colon opened up, excrement oozing- that's gross...

He had swallowed something though. It looked like an ECHO. It was still playing too...! Granted it was garbled... and smelled horrible. But getting past that, I could make out a few words...

" _Hear this... Kssshh... sane eno-sshh oo understand... shhh to Sanctuary. I don't kshhh Jack's told you shhhh"_ It cut off... Must've finally ran out of juice, but not before spouting that noise about Sanctuary and Jack.

Jack. Handsome Jack everyone called him. I didn't know much about that guy. Just that he usually didn't mean well. Seriously, the guy looked, sounded and felt like he was just plotting something dastardly. I use that word lightly of course. I meant to say something way more explicit.

And to think ol' Juggernaut wanted to strike a deal with him too... Whatever the hell he meant by that.

I guess that's why I didn't care _that_ much about that girl wiping us out. I was planning on running away anyway. I never wanted to work with someone who had way more money than I did. Meant I was expendable. Jack seemed like the type of person who would kill anyone. Anyone. Even his own men. So me? Nah.

I'm not expendable.

 _ **Ka-chik...**_

Damn...

"S'up?" I turned around with my hands raised. My eyes widened a bit from whom stood before me. Or rather, _sat_ on a large _legless bot._

Though... yeah... Flynt would've definitely kept her to himself... Pretty green eyes, lovely fire-colored hair. If everything was normal like from where I came from, she could've been girlfriend material even.

And she had her gun pointed at my head... Her Hyperion gu - dammit again! She worked for Jack! It all made sense!

Now I regretted hesitating to pull that trigger. Because I've never stared down the barrel of a gun before, especially one that could rip through my shields and end me at this range...

Damn... I did not wanna go out like this.

"That's a nice Sniper rifle you have there." She said with a grin. Her robot whirred at the statement. His claw seemed to appear out of nothing. Jeez... three feet and even more terrifying.

"Yeah." I swallowed as her barrel kissed my neck. "That's uh... a pretty nice looking rifle you got. Hyperion, right?"

"Yup. Got it as a reward, but eh... Not really feeling a rifle like this. Yours, on the other hand, looks pretty neat."

"Don't like your boss' guns? Why?" I was stalling. Shoot. Anything at this point.

"Boss?" She tilted her head like she didn't know what I was talking about. "What the heck are you talking about? Boss?"

"Right. How much did Jack pay you anyway? Probably not a lot for our little band of rogues."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Jack? That jackass?" She nudged me back with her gun. I felt a little relief knowing we both disliked Handsome Jack. Maybe I could play that to my advantage.

"Wait... You don't work for Jack?" I asked, swallowing again as the barrel of her gun pushed on my Adam's apple.

"No, I don't work for Jack! That douche almost got me killed!" I could practically hear the hate in her voice from her otherwise cheery demeanor.

"Oh!" I blinked at her, though she wouldn't see behind my red goggles. "Well... I feel kinda stupid now. Here I thought you were with Hyperion."

"Nah, bandit dude. I'm not with Hyperion, and definitely not with Jackass." She sniggered. I coughed. "I'm against them. It's you bandits that are with him."

"What?" Now I didn't know what she was talking about.

"Like you're not after my bounty." She rolled her eyes.

"What? Whoa, whoa, whoa. What bounty?" I had no idea what she was talking about.

"Puh-leeze. Like you didn't hear the reward for killing a Vault Hunter on the ECHOnet."

I shrugged. Was it weird that I looked so calm despite being at gunpoint? It didn't feel weird. "I didn't hear nothing about a Vault Hunter." I stepped back a little. That barrel was making my throat dry. "I don't have ECHOnet either. Juggernaut did though. And he probably heard of your bounty... But he's probably dead now. I was just on the move."

"Uh-huh." She didn't seem convinced. "You're the one that ran away."

"That's me."

"I've gotta ask you something, though."

Was it weird we were having a conversation like this? "Sure thing, kid. Not like I got better things to do anyway."

She chuckled slightly. "Why didn't you help your boss then?"

"Uh..." What was I supposed to say? "Because you're pretty dangerous?" She cocked her brow. "And you got a death bot by your side? And your sniper nearly killed me in one shot?"

"Yeah." She nodded like it was normal. Like it was something she did daily... Wow... It kinda reminded me of myself. "But you bandits never run away. You did. What's your deal?"

"I... want to live?" I answered truthfully. I got the feeling she wasn't a psychopath... from the way she acted and her body language... Yeah, this girl could kill... but she wasn't bloodthirsty like Juggernaut.

I think...

"You sure about that? Cause I saw you scoping me out with that sexy rifle of yours."

"Ditto with you... Except I didn't pull the trigger. You sent me out the tower."

Now she narrowed her eyes. "Well, why didn't you?"

Now I had to make up something. Simply saying "because" probably meant I died. I thought of Sanctuary. It sounded like a place. No. Too vague. Maybe... Maybe... "Cause I was thinking of using you as a distraction to run away?" I thought that up in a second by the way.

"Run away? Aren't those your buddies?"

"Not really no." Again... truth. "I've been meaning to run away. Juggernaut wanted to make a deal with that Jack guy. Whatever that meant. I'm not so cool with dealing with a guy who has _that_ in the sky." I nodded up at the sky. She looked where I gestured.

Wow, seriously? I could snatch her gun from her... Wait... No. That bot would just kill me.

"Good point." She lowered her rifle. Holy crap, she lowered her rifle. "So here's the question. What should I do with you, bandit noob?"

I honestly didn't have an answer to that. Shoot, I didn't expect it to go like this. Plus I blurted out, "I don't know" before I had time to think. And did she just call me a "noob"?

"This is weird." She said with a quizzical look on her face. "I never met a bandit who didn't want wanna kill me."

Well... Not now anyway. "I've never been held at gunpoint either, but today is a day of firsts."

"Plus... you're like really, really calm about this."

"I'm... a bit weird myself." I wasn't lying either.

"Hey, Hammerlock?" She put one finger to her ear. A few seconds passed before. "Sorry about that. I ran into a bandit here that's not actually a bandit."

I was sweating. To give you a reference, I could also see my freaking breath out here.

"Yeah, that's the point. He said he's not after my bounty, didn't even know it existed even... Uh huh." She looked at me now. "What about now? You want the money now?"

"I don't think my opinion really matters in this situation..." I said frankly. It really didn't. I say no, she might think I was lying and I get shot. I say yeah, I get shot.

She blinked for one second before continuing her talk with that Hammerlock guy. "He's kinda funny, though. I kinda don't wanna kill him."

Oh... She thought I was funny? "You kinda already did." That was the truth too. No humor to it.

"Maybe I can bring him there? See what you guys think of him?"

Wow... I was being bartered. This day was just going downhill from the gecko.

"Drop your gun." She gestured with her gun. I did what I was told. Might as well anyway. I saw no other alternative. "Nah, he's not armed anymore... A sniper rifle. Jakobs."

I didn't know how to feel. A full spectrum of emotions flowed through me at the moment. Yeah... A FULL SPECTRUM. I needed to piss again.

"Say uh... if you don't mind I'm gonna take a leak." I stepped back.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, noob. Nuh-uh. Empty your pockets first. What, you think I'm stupid or something?"

I was not gonna answer that if I wanted to live. "Unless you want like..." I cautiously pulled out two rejuvenators. "Two of these. I don't got much else."

"What's _much else_?"

Wasn't too proud, but whatever... I slid my backpack off and unzipped it. She picked it up with the barrel of her gun, peeking inside briefly before narrowing her eyes at me. Her cheery demeanor, absent in this new look.

I just shrugged. "I'm a boy. What else am I supposed to look at?"

The orange hair girl sighed with annoyance. "He's a bit of a sleazebag, too. Found a mag in his pack." She spoke into her palm.

She acted like she never saw porn before. Sheesh. Not my fault I was given natural urges...

'Alright. That works for me... What the- no!" I couldn't help but try to listen in on her conversation. Couldn't hear anything but her though. "C.P.! No! I won't!"

Who the hell was C.P...?

"We'll talk later!" She then turned to me. "So this is kinda awkward..."

I didn't like the sound of that. "Yeah?"

"So Hammerlock here thinks you could help us if we could trust you."

"I guess that's okay."

"Yeah, no..." She shook her head. "That's the point. I actually don't."

"Oh.' Seriously. What could I say? "Sooo that means?"

"Well... I'm not gonna kill you."

That was somewhat a relief. "Okay."

"But you see I can't have you following us home, isn't that right, babe?" She patted her bot. Suddenly I had a really bad feeling. A REAL BAD FEELING. "So nothing personal, noob. Buuuuut..."

She aimed her rifle and- _**BANG!**_

Holy crap... That hurt. That hurt just as much as the first shot. I growled, yelled, screamed, whatever! I don't know! But it was aloud and I hit the ground pretty damn hard, clutching my knee.

"Again. Sorry. Nothing personal." I barely heard her over my own grunts of agony. I couldn't help it. "I really am sorry! Please, don't hate me for this, bandit noob!" She was shouting... which meant she was leaving...

I already knew where she was heading... Liar's Berg. Towards that old guy, Hammerlock.

I wanted to curse in rage and pain. I really did. But I restrained myself. I had too... I just had to grab my rejuvenators in my emergency pocket.

That girl was a real freaking amateur...and **damn it all** , I was gonna get her back for that! Now I was pissed... Now I wanted revenge... That's it. She was gonna friggin' pay!

Stabbing myself with that red needle, I let out a sharp and strained breath... I had to think this through carefully. I had no weapons. My shield was pretty much crap at best. And I was down to my last healing vial.

You know, part of me wanted to just find her and strangle the crap outta her. But the other part of me already knew how that would end. Plus, I heard rumors of that old guy in Liar's Berg. How he was actually a pretty good shot too.

That would be problematic... and also interesting... if she also didn't steal my damn Jakob's rifle!

This was stupid! I needed a new shield and a new gun... And if I could help it, a grenade for that bot...

Yeah. That would work. Now I just needed to find all that stuff...

I couldn't take one of Flynt's boys. They always traveled in packs. And I didn't nearly have half the money needed to buy one from those freaking vending machines around here...

Hmm... Oh.

I forgot to pay my respects to my mates...

* * *

 **End of Chapter**

 **Author's Note: And well... there you go. A longer chapter (slightly). What'd you guys think? Having Gaige react to this bandit character was a bit difficult. I hope I didn't get too out of character. Anyways, remember to have a great day, and I'll see you next chapter!**


	4. Amateur

**Chapter 4: Amateur**

* * *

I can't believe I did that. I cannot believe I did that... Holy crap. I just kneecap'd him! He surrendered and I... I just...

Holy crap...

I mean... I didn't want him to follow me! He was a bandit! But... Holy crap...! He just screamed and...

"Vault Hunter?"

I turned my head towards the door. It was Hammerlock in all his ragged, Victorian glory... His cybernetic hand holding a plate while his other one held the handle of a teacup.

"I've taken liberty in whipping up some tea and couldn't help but notice your rather obvious distress." Ah, Hammerlock. Two weeks in and he still had a knack of rendering me speechless.

...

Not that way. Shut up...

"I uh.." I gulped, tripping over my words. Wow, okay, my hands were still shaking...

"Ah. I see that you are still upset over that incident with that devilish chap."

I mean... he wasn't wrong but... was it really that obvious?

"Would it be better if I kept you some company? Perhaps we may discuss the current events over a cup of tea?"

... It was hard to say no to that.

"MINION! BOY, DO I HAVE A JOB FOR YOU!" Claptrap burst through the doorway.

Annnnd now the bittersweet mood was replaced with a "Why me..." mood.

* * *

So after a few hours of tea... though it was mostly C.P. running his mouth about killing more Bullymongs and taking their fur again so he could give himself a mohawk. Hammerlock looked like he wanted to fling himself into Bullymongs... Me? I was surprised Claptrap could talk as much as he could, but I let him go on. Even agreed to grab a bit cause eh... why not? I felt for the little guy. Everyone went to bed.

I couldn't sleep just yet. Mostly because, I didn't think it was possible, but C.P. made me bored to the point of restlessness.

Kudos...

Okay, maybe I was still feeling guilty about "bandit noob"...

...

Alright, alright! I felt bad...! I mean he didn't even have a weapon anymore and I just... POW! Right through his kneecap! Like in those old movies I once watched... All that blood and meat and then his screams...!

...

He sounded pretty young though. Sorry. Off topic. Kinda.

Oh man... I can't get that moment out my head. And it was weird because... Okay so I know Pandora is a pretty messed up place and I've done... a fair amount of equally messed up things... Yeah... let's go with that. Though there's something about leaving the guy like that. I would've felt better if I just slaughtered him like...

... Or- or if I just didn't bother with hi-

I mean he just screamed and dropped so fast... He just...

I took his rejuvenators too... I left him out there on the ice and snow, bleeding for those Bullymongs...

Holy crap...

I just needed some rest. Yeah. That was it. Just needed some rest. Just had to shut the lamp and rest...

I had this. I got this...

I finished recalibrating D.T. and tomorrow I was gonna scout out that Flynt punk's group. And then the guy himself...

I wonder how long he'd last against Deathtrap... One... maybe two minutes?

Claptrap was coming along but... I doubt he'd be any actual help... He had a knack for running at the first sign of danger.

I was on the freaking edge! So much I didn't even notice my cyber-arm was squeezing the metal railing on the bed a bit too hard...

"Aw crap." Well... I'm sure Hammerlock wouldn't mind it that much... Hopefully...

Phew... I needed to rest... Lots to do... Lots to do...

* * *

I don't remember leaving the window open. It's freakin' cold in her-

"Hey."

"Ohmygod..." I breathed out... No, check that. I squeaked. Something moved in front of my bed. I could see the glint of a revolver... Jakobs.

"Well... appropriate reaction. Though I'd prefer if you just gasped. That would've been better."

I jerked... my arms were tied to the bedpo- God... My arms were tied. So were my legs.

"So... nice setup you got here and by the way... don't bother screaming." I couldn't see him clearly... He was covered in the shadows. I couldn't summon Deathtrap... My cybernetic arm was tied... The clinking...

Chains! He had me... He had me! I should've killed him! "Your... well... friends... won't hear you. Not now anyway."

Hammerlock... Claptrap... What...

"Pretty good job you did on your arm by the way... First glance, I thought it was because you had a nasty accident. Now that I know where your bot comes from, it's pretty obvious why it's like that..."

He... what did he do to me...?

"Or it's not. That's not what's on my mind right now."

I REALLY had trouble catching my breath.

"Nah. What to do with you...?" I tried to think of something. That's when Hammerlock and Claptrap's death... Damn it... Damn it! "I could do a lot actually... It's really something to think about." And he sounded so... CALM. There was nobody else in Liar's Berg... "And I kind of want to do a lot..."

I struggled... at this point, it was really just squirming...

"Before we begin, lemme just say... You're a total bitch."

...

"Sorry. I don't curse much. But leaving me out there, like that..." I saw him move again. He shifted closer to me... No... "I mean..." I felt the wind as he whipped something in front of me... I nearly cried out when I saw the glint of the moon highlight the revolver. "I really wanted to shoot you. Right there." He jabbed the gun at my forehead... "While you slept."

"But then I was like, 'Nah, too easy.' Then I thought to myself..." He shifted the gun lower... towards my chest... then my stomach... down my waist... and right at my knee... "Peeerfect. Wake her up like this, huh?"

I couldn't see his face.

"An eye for an eye, right?"

"..." I was going to say something... until I saw his posture change. He slouched a little...

"Anyway... while this is happening, you should know I went through your stuff. All of your stuff. Pretty neat ECHOlogs by the way. A little sad in the beginning but by the last one, I was rooting for you. That Marcie girl sounded like a real tool."

... what the hell was this guy...?

"Then I remembered you shot me and moved on. Then I found this." He held up another ECHO recording. "This wasn't found in your little locker there. By the way, you're a hypocrite."

He threw something... a magazine at me. I already knew what it was.

"After listening to this, lemme make you a deal. You tell me what you know about Sanctuary maybe I'll let you come outta this alive?"

"I... don't.." I swallowed. "You're lying..."

"Yeah, probably." I had to keep myself from gasping when he plopped down next to me, his goggles and mask now visible... He looked like a marauder... "Like I said, I could do anything to you right now. For an example, you seem pretty squeamish right now... "

... I think my vision was getting blurry.

"And you did get my blood all over my porno mags..."

...

"Don't go pissing yourself now, kid. I'm just getting my revenge. Besides, rape was never really my deal... That was more of Juggernaut's thing and you killed him too."

"I..."

"Thanks. I've been meaning to do something about him but... I'm pretty sure a bullet to the head won't stop him. That killing machine you have though..." He set his revolver into his holster. "Anyway... tell me about Sanctuary and how do I get there."

I didn't say anything.

"Seriously...? You're gonna make this difficult?"

More silence. He let out an annoyed sigh and took out his gun. "Waitwait wait! Okay!" I cried. Fine. I did it...! I cried! His gun was pointing at my stomach. What was I supposed to do?! "Okay... You gotta..." My voice cracked. "You gotta get through Flynt..."

"Damn... Ah well. I suppose it was inevitable. After that?"

"There's a boat..."

"Oh." He said. More moments of silence soon followed. "Easy enough. And then?"

"I'm not... I... I don't know..."

"Well..." He looked at me. Something red flashed behind his goggles... "That actually didn't help... Not in the slightest. Plus... Flynt is a real jerk and he's got a lot of boys." He chuckled to himself. "You have no idea... Wait... No, you probably do."

I shifted my legs... Didn't help.

"Anyway... I guess that about wraps it up."

I started to panic...

"Thanks anyway, amateur." He stood up, checking the cylinders-

"Please! Please! No!"

 _ **BANG! BANG!**_

"WHAT IN THE DEVIL'S NAME WAS THAT?!"

"AHH! MINION! PROTECT ME!"

I panted, opening my eyes slightly... He was looking back at me from the window.

"GAIGE!? GAIGE?! Are you unharmed?!" Hammerlock's voice boomed through the small house.

"Wha..." Was all I could manage.

"Don't take my gun again." Was all he said before he leapt out. Just as Hammerlock burst in, hunting rifle in hand.

"Good heavens! Gaige, dear, what happened?!"

But I couldn't even answer him... My own breaths hitched... I saw the dust falling from the ceiling... There were two holes in them...

What was this guy's deal...?

* * *

 **End of Chapter**

 **Author's Note: Playing with fire here. Not sure if it came out as it did in my head. Definitely more serious than the other chapters but I really think humor wouldn't be good here...**

 **And I might've been stating the obvious as well.**

 **What do you guys think? Good? Bad? Gray area? Lemme know and remember, have a great day and I'll see you next chapter!**


	5. Angels and Demons

**Chapter 5: Angels and Demons**

* * *

I really did a number on that girl... Man, oh man... She had the tears and everything. I even had to refrain myself of bit cause I was pretty damn sure she was one scare away from soiling herself...

That was kind of disappointing considering the mess she left at my camp... The camp... Ex-camp? Whatever. She slaughtered every bandit in there, excluding me obviously, and was reduced to tears at the mere thought of her friends dead... and her possible death.

Okay, I'll cut her some slack, I was wondering if I was gonna die too and it made me wanna take a piss. But I didn't cry...

Why was I even comparing myself to her? New topic. Flynt's got a bounty on me now.

Yeah... He wasn't too thrilled that his lieutenants, Boom, and Bewm - actually two different people - were horrendously murdered in their own sanctuary. I couldn't be any more accurate either... Boom Bewm were really dead... Horrendously dead.

It had been very easy as it turned out. One of them sat idly on a large, mounted turret, while the other went gung-ho with a shotty... Their brightly colored heads might as well have a large neon sign that said: "Shoot here."

You probably think I'm being melodramatic. Honestly? I'm actually being modest. Seriously... scaring that Gaige girl was harder than that gunfight.

Oh, there we go again with her on my mind. You know I've seen plenty of women in my time spent here... Thank you, Juggernaut, you depraved degenerate. Hope Gaige's bot ripped your eyes out instead. But seriously speaking, it was alarming how much I was thinking of this girl... woman... I dunno. She sounded young. Looked like she was an older teenager, like me.

Distracted. Like every time my mind drifted to her, I dunno...

I guess she was... for the lack of a better word, interesting. Dare I say, exciting? She killed my entire team, man! That's pretty interesting... And hell, I was mad at her for blasting my friggin' knee off, but that said she wasn't so... I wanna say, gallant? But she was brave... she had stones. Mega stones, to fight a depraved meathead who's sole form of entertainment consist on breaking unfortunate woman... and on really _bad_ nights? Men...

Specifically, his own men too.

Probably should've killed him sooner but... Juggernaut was a juggernaut for a reason. Plus... those guys were all scared of him, to the point where they did everything he said without question so... Couldn't really find anyone to join me...

And, I didn't want my junk sawed off to be his pretty little girl too, should I get caught.

I guess that's why I stayed in my tower. Not only did he have no absolute reason to bother me since I joined his crew, he had all this muscle but couldn't actually do much with it... Like, climb a ladder for an example... Sure he could probably punch your head off, but... I didn't really have to worry about that... Not that he wouldn't do it...

...

He just wouldn't be able to get far with me.

Back to important matters, Boom Bewm was dead. Flynt wasn't too thrilled to learn about that. Which meant he'd probably sent a bunch of his men to hold that area for when I come back...

That's okay. Numbers don't matter to me if I had time. Besides... the more he sent now meant the less were protecting him - assuming he didn't have the whole continent following him that is...

Flynt was pretty slow though... kinda like one of those guys who just preferred to muscle things out the way. A tank so to speak.

But imagine that tank could spontaneously combust at will, melting any shrapnel or rounds that happened to fly his way.

And said tank thought using a ship anchor for a weapon was a good idea. That was pretty much Flynt.

Normally, I would've just sniped him, I could do it too now that I had my rifle again, except Flynt just happened to be slightly smarter than he appeared to be. Unlike Boom and his even less fortunate partner, Bewm, Flynt's helmet was invulnerable to conventional weaponry...

This high-powered Sniper Rifle? It might leave a dent in it. This Jakob's revolver? Nope. Nothing. I might as well just beat him with my fist... And I had no doubts the King of the Ripper gang knew of his near "invincibleness"...

That's not a word. I was making a point.

Fighting him would be... tricky. Not to mention annoying. The guy never shuts up about torturing or killing. Like, yeah, we get it. You're absolutely crazy - so is about ninety percent of the inhabitants here.

 _ **Creak...**_

It was still dark outside, had it not been for the giant H in the sky and the glowing crusts and faults from the moon, it probably would've been a lot darker in this room.

A small lantern in the corner illuminated the area just enough to see the floor. If I was being honest, I really didn't need it. But I kept it around anyway... It calmed me, watching that single flame make those shadows dance along the walls...

I'd try to get some sleep if I didn't have a funny feeling about that Gaige girl. I was pretty sure, from the look on her face as I leaped out that window - don't do that if you've been recently shot in your knee by the way - that wasn't going to be the last time I would see her.

In fact, there was a good chance she was out there looking for me now. Whether to kill me or not, we'll just burn that bridge when we get to it. Or we won't. Who honestly knew with this girl.

I played my move, and so it was her turn now.

...

I wasn't sure what I was doing with this though. At first, I just wanted to get away from her. Then, I wanted revenge and probably damn near broke her in the process... I think. Now I expected her to show up again, guns blazing or not didn't concern me. I wasn't certain. Her showing up? I was certain about that.

Funny thing though, lemme share something secret here... I think I wanted her to show up... It was off... not to mention surprising and I wasn't entirely sure why... I just did.

So... yeah. Out of the hundreds of people I've met, shot, or... killed... This one caught my attention... Making me realize that I had to reanalyze a few things tonight. The gates, the traps... My eye... and most of all. Myself. I was looking forward to it.

All of it.

* * *

Dawn came sooner than I anticipated. The morning glow of the sun, reflecting off the white snow, bringing light to this small structure. I yawned.

Probably had about two hours of sleep. Even then, it was better than most of my nights on this planet. I felt rested and ready.

Amazing what you are capable of when times get rough, huh? I use that term lightly, however.

"You always do." I blinked at the ceiling. Whoa... I was definitely not expecting her.

"Anais," I spoke low.

"Ezekiel." My sister sat next to me on the bed, looking down into my eyes.

There was a long silence that threatened to choke the daylights out of the both of us. There was a pretty good reason why also...

"You look well." She smiled weakly.

"About the same as last time." I wasn't trying to sound cold, even if it appeared like that. In reality, I was freaking out... and trying to hold it together.

"Except you're no longer with them." Her dark brown hair wisped side to side as she looked around the room, out the window and doorway.

"They all died."

"Except Juggernaut." Her lips turned into a frown as she leaned closer. I could see her green eyes clearly now.

"Except Juggernaut..." My hands were behind my head as I lay there. I made a point to force them to stay there...

"He never dies, does he, Zeke?"

"He can," I said ominously. "I just don't know how. But I know he can."

"Because you want him too?" I shivered as her hand found my chest. It was cold. Hollow.

No words. Just a nod.

"One day." She smiled again. My chest tightened as my eyes fixed on her. Beautiful. Innocent. Pure. Just like the day she was born...

"Yeah..." My voice was barely above a whisper now. I had to mask the trembling that threatened to escape.

"Please." My own breathing became sharp as she spoke again. "Don't lose it." Damn it...

"I'll be fine..." A lie.

"You never were." Damn it...

I swallowed. "I will be."

"I know what you did last night." Damn it... Damn it...!

"..."

"Please." I blinked. She was gone...

...

Another hour of rest might do me well.

* * *

Damn him! That dick! That sneaky, no good, rotten, little-!

...Okay... Okay! Keep it together, Gaige. What do we know...?

Okay, so recap... Bandit noob snuck into our house last night... He got past the locked doors, which by the way are also BARRICADED. He also got pass C.P.'s scanner. Probably had a cloak or something, I friggin' called it.

... That wasn't even the worst part.

That... son of a bitch tied me up to my bed... and then he... What he said...

I thought they died... and he...

...

I don't even know what to say... I'm so... lost right now. I feel so... what's the word...? Violated. Pretty freaking violated right now.

I know he didn't touch me or anything... but...

...

Hammerlock was furious. Something I've never seen before. I had to convince him not to go storming out for bandit noob.

And that's what was the most messed up of all...

I convinced Hammerlock NOT to go after the guy who tied me up. Can you believe it?

No. Not even I could. My mind was so messed up. So freaking clouded. I had so many WTF's going on right now...

He didn't hurt me was my number one...

I shot this guy... in his _knee. After_ I stole his gun too. And even that was _after_ I killed his friends. Though he didn't seem too bothered about that.

Taking the first two in consideration... I should've been dead or at the very least... hurt. It messed with my head how he didn't hurt me. I should've... after what I did to him I...

...what... was wrong with this guy?!

Was he messing with me on purpose? Doing everything he did just to show me he could? Because he just can?

I grabbed my coat and gun and left my room. I knew what I wanted to do now.

"Oh, Gaige! May I ask where you're heading?" Hammerlock met me in the hallway, a cup of tea in his hands again.

I couldn't look him in the eye right now. "Out," I said. "Gonna clear out s'more bandits."

He didn't look like he bought it and deep down, I knew he wouldn't either. But I didn't really care right now... I was gonna confront that guy... one way or another. And this time... it was either me or him.

"Please do be careful." Hammerlock forced a smile. I nodded before brushing past him, feeling his eyes on me. I didn't even say bye to Claptrap... I didn't have time for that.

I didn't have time for anything, my mind was set...

Was I scared? A little yeah. I was more angry than scared though - for a good reason too.

"Deathtrap," I said, raising my left arm up. The giant, legless robot digistructed in front of me. I didn't even have to say anymore as he lowered himself down for me to climb on his shoulder, Hyperion Rifle in hand. "Scan for nearby possible hostiles," I ordered.

A few seconds of whirring then came more silence.

"Good, now isolate possible sniper wielding hostiles."

More whirring again before he went silent.

"Excellent. Now sync the location results to my ECHO." I tapped the small device by my ear. A light blue holographic screen appeared before my eyes... An overlay of the area surrounding Liar's Berg, and about a mile or two north...

One diamond mark... Him.

"Deathtrap. Go." My voice went cold. My mind, blank...

You don't mess with me like that...

* * *

 **End of Chapter**

 **Author's Note: Another serious chapter, the calm before the storm. Gaige seems pretty set on confronting bandit noob, who we now know as Ezekiel. And just to clarify, no, that isn't my in real life name. Totally has nothing to do with me but my imagination.**

 **So what do you guys think? Getting exciting? Or getting dull? Maybe move a little faster? A little slower? Lemme know, and remember, have a great day! I'll see you next chapter.**


	6. Unconditional Trust

**Chapter 6: Unconditional Trust**

* * *

So, that's where you ran back to, huh? Back to your little hidey hole, surrounded by your dead friends. Good. There was only one way out of this camp.

And I was blocking it.

More or less blocking it anyway. D.T. trailed behind me a few ways down, as ordered. I wanna make the guy think it was just me. Think I was stupid to seek him out, then I'll show him why it was a really good idea to chain my left arm up.

A _really good_ idea.

...

I'll admit, last night rattled me, but how often do you get tied to a bed at the hands of someone like that? Especially since he just... casually dropped that he could violate me if he wanted.

Who the hell just does that?!

"Exactly as I thought." I heard his voice call out in front of me, he could've been anywhere at this point. Whether I was afraid or not was irrelevant. Completely moot. I was packing enough shield power to take a hit from a freakin' rocket launcher. His Jakob's sniper wasn't gonna hurt me.

"You were waiting for me?" I couldn't pinpoint where he was exactly, but I had a general idea where he would be. That stupid tower stood out from the rest of the camp.

"Not necessarily. I knew you'd stop by. Not that it concerned me."

This guy was a jackass, through and through. "Didn't concern you, huh... You're awfully confident."

"Again, not necessarily." There was a pause. I was tempted to call D.T. in... but he continued. "Just... intuitive, I guess."

"Oh yeah? How so?"

"Obviously you're mad about what I did." Wasn't even sure how to respond in this scenario. Lemme go with some dry sarcasm.

"Nah. I'm here to strike up a friendly conversation."

"Well... if you don't die here, I'll grant you that."

That was all I needed to whip out my rifle and aim at the tower. His silhouette visible, I pulled on that trigger so freaking hard!

"Well, well, well...! I knew you'd be back!" I whirled around. Five men, four bandits, and one huge motherhumper...

Didn't I kill that guy?!

"Where's your robot now, you little bitch?" He sneered, stepping closer... Holy crap this guy was huge...! I don't remember him being that big!

And a good question where was Deathtr-

...

I realized how badly I screwed up...

Bandit noob was part of this gang. Deathtrap and I wiped everyone but him and he just happens to return back here after he strapped me to my bed...? And possibly messed with my arm..?

Oh man...

 _ **BANG!**_

One of the bandit's head exploded! Bits and pieces of his brain covered his teammates. A little even got on my face...

"What the fuck?!" One of them cried. That was my reaction too if I was being honest. Did that guy just save me?

The large one just gritted his teeth. **"GEARHEEAAD!"** He shoved one of his teammates aside, grabbing his gun in the process. I jumped behind a wall of scrap metal. My heart was pounding and my left arm felt hot... I couldn't get Deathtrap to come out - that was a serious freaking problem.

That Juggernaut guy looked bigger than I remembered. Seriously, he stood at least twice my height and three times as wide! It was almost as if he was fed nothing but steroids all his life.

 _ **BANG!**_

Another bandit hit the floor, deep red liquid gushing from his eye.

"FUCKING COWARD!" One of the last two screamed. BOOM! His head exploded.

Whoa... This guy was no joke...!

Now it was quiet, suspiciously quiet. I peeked my head around the corner - I had my shield, I was fine for now - the Juggernaut guy was nowhere to be found, but that last bandit guy was out of cover, eyeing the towe-

Did he not see me? Seriously?!

Well... his loss. Literally.

 _ **POW!**_

I always hated the way Hyperion rifles sounded. They sounded so... wimpy.

My whole body was yanked back violently. I flailed my arms, kicked my legs... But the Juggernaut guy just held me away from him.

"So." Oh god, his breath reeked! Smelled like rotten corpses and ass! "Gearhead's gotten himself a girl, eh?" I had to fight every urge to gag and vomit in this guy's face. I mean granted it wouldn't do much since he had a helmet on his head though it was pretty much a bucket with two holes drilled in them...

But really, it was horrible. I smelled some bad crap in my time here but... holy hell...

" **I** **'m gonna enjoy breaking ya apart in front of him..."** He growled.

Wait... Oh... Oh crap. I cocked my left arm back.

 _ **BA-CLANG!**_

I dropped to the floor as that Juggernaut guy staggered back, grunting. I didn't waste any time grabbing my sniper rifle and sprinting for that tower. It was pretty clear that bandit noob... or rather, "Gearhead" was on my side.

For now anyway.

"What are you doing, idiot?! Get your bot out here!" _**BA-CLANG!**_

"I-I can't!" My left arm was still hot. Damn it! I think it short-circuited.

 _ **"GEARHEAD!"**_ That hulking mass of rampage bellowed.

"Yeah, COME ON!" Gearhead fired another round, hitting his bucket helmet again. "God-! WILL YOU HURRY UP?!" He did a double take at me.

Oh! Right! I was partnering up with this guy. Aiming my rifle at the Juggernaut's exposed flesh, I fired.

 _ **"RARGGHGHG!"**_ The Juggernaut starting jerking violently, his whole body being fried from that one shot. I backed up a ramp, climbing onto the roof of a metal shack. From here, I could see that behemoth stumble his way to the tower. Gearhead wasn't even there anymore though. He was on the ground, crouching behind a Dahl dumpster.

I took a few shots at the Juggernaut jackass. They didn't seem to be doing any real damage besides shocking and slowing him down. Meanwhile, Gearhead over there showed himself between every shock therapy session, making him run closer and closer towards the back of the camp.

The way he moved, it was... so smooth. Like he had done this a hundred times before. The way he fired his rifle with his right arm only...

I seriously underestimated this guy...

He was just as dangerous as the rampaging bandit, probably even more dangerous as he bar hopped another low cover, firing back without even glancing at his target. I still heard the metal _**CLANG!**_ of the bullet too! Like he had a third eye or something!

 _ **"RAGH- KILL YOU!"**_ He slammed his fist into the base of the tower, causing it to lean dangerously to the right. _**"I'LL KILL YA! I'LL KILL YA BOTH AND FUCK YOUR CORPSE!"**_

OKAY, this guy had some SERIOUS problems...!

"YEAH? WITH WHAT?!" He leaned out of cover and- _**BANG!**_

Owh...! Goddamn! The Juggernaut guy howled, clutching his... well, space where his junk used to be!

Damn! Gearhead was definitely no joke.

"WHAT NOW!?" _**BANG!**_ Juggernaut collapsed to one knee with a yelp, his other one had been shot out. _"WHAT NOW?!"_ _ **BANG!**_ Gearhead shot him in his other knee, making him fall on his back.

 _ **BANG!**_

 _ **"THE!"**_

 ** _BANG!_**

 ** _"FUCK!_**

 ** _BANG!_**

 ** _"YOU GONNA!"_**

 ** _BANG!_**

 ** _"DO!"_**

 ** _BANG!_**

 ** _"NOW!"_**

Holy... shit...

Gearhead hastily reloaded. The Juggernaut lied on his back, his legs and arms completely shot off... Swinging his rifle behind him, he grabbed the now limbless giant by his tattered shirt. He then growled as he slowly pulled him along the floor. Groans filled the air from the huge guy too.

"Grrah...! A little help!?" He shouted at me. I hesitated for a moment before hopping down from the roof. Why did I do it? Hell... I dunno.

...

I really didn't want to admit it... but he could've killed me last night if he wanted to. It was pretty clear now as he laid waste to his former boss.

... but why did he? I get that he wanted to get away from him but... the way he shot his limbs off. And his anger... That sounded more _personal_ than just simply getting away...

"Come on..." He grunted. "By the furnace..."

Why the hell was there a furnace just sitting-

"Fu-egh...! Fuck you, Gearhead! You can't kill me...!" The limbless Juggernaut thrashed his... stumps around. We hauled his heavy self toward the furnace.

"Watch me..." Gearhead breathed out. He sounded like he was holding back something... like a wet sob. It could've been just me though. A lot just happened in the last few minutes.

The marauder grabbed the valve, the black smoke seeping out the grater turned into a roaring flame that burned brighter with every twist.

I had to take a step back. Those flames were begging to escape the iron prison. It didn't seem like it bothered Gearhead though.

"Grab me that buzzsaw." He pointed at one of the dead bandits he popped. A psycho one.

"Fuck you, Gearhead!" The Juggernaut spat.

I didn't even know what to think when I handed him the thing. I did hold my rifle close to me as I watched him cut into his former boss' body without a care in the world. The giant's screams of agony filling the air as he dismembered and... mutilated his abdomen and torso... And finally his head.

I swallowed. This was uh... getting a bit unnerving now.

"Anais," Gearhead spoke out loud while lifting the Juggernaut's head up to eye lev-. Wait! HE WAS STILL ALIVE?! "Do you remember any of your victims, Jug? I bet you don't..." Wow, this was getting creepy.

A gurgling noise was all the head could make. I stepped back.

"Do you remember a little girl? Bright green eyes, dark brown hair..."

More gurgling.

"Funny thing, that little girl. Not much of a fighter, but she had a huge heart..." He sighed. "She always knew right from wrong. Always helped those who deserved it, not needed it. Anyone could need help... For an example, you _definitely_ need help... Isn't that right?" He glanced left. Uh... I didn't know who he was talking to. I was to the right of him.

"She was so innocent too... Never wronged anybody in her life... So pure." He looked down. The Juggernaut head made some choking noises. "Unlike me, Anais saw the... good things about life, y'know? She was optimistic, whereas I downright hate it..." He casually walked forward. I felt REALLY awkward standing here.

"She came here to find me. To take me someplace else. Dearest Anais..."

Who was Anais?

"And she would've found me too... if you didn't get your hands on her _**first**_." He threw the head at the furnace, it bounced off with a wet thud before hitting the snow. "She was my sister. My **fucking sister.** And you _**raped**_ her, _**killed**_ her and then you _**ATE HER!"**_

Oh my god...

"You...! YOU!" Gearhead rushed for his head, raising his right leg off the ground and giving it a brutal kick. _**"DISGUSTING!"**_

 _ **THWACK!**_

 _ **"PILE!"**_

 **THWACK!**

 **"OF SHIT!"**

 **THWACK!**

He picked the head back up, panting heavily, almost feverishly. "But you know **what**?! It's okay!"

What...

"IT'S OKAY!" He laughed. Yeah... I backed away more, he lost it. "Cause that means you get to burn in hell... So why not start now..." He spat in Juggernaut's face before hitting the lever that opened the furnace.

The head made more gurgling noises...

"I dunno if this'll kill you." Gearhead laughed again. "But you better hope it does! Heard being set on fire is the worst way to go... Right up there with drowning~!" He tossed the head into the furnace with a triumphant howl before tossing the rest of his limbs and parts in there. The sizzling and smell of burnt flesh filled my nostrils... I kinda had to puke again.

 _ **"AAHHRRRGH!"**_ Gearhead fell to his knees screaming at the sky- why am I even still here?! "Mother... fu... cker..." He collapsed on all fours.

At this point, I was just standing there watching... Why? Don't ask...

But he stayed like that for a while... even after the sizzling of the fire finally settled down, he still stayed that way... I coughed, partly because of the smoke in the air, partly because I genuinely believed he forgot I was here.

"Hey... Gaige..." He paused. "Can I call you that? Whatever..." He was on his knees again. His head was turned slightly so he could see me. It looked dramatic as all hell but... then again... a lot had happened in the past couple of minutes. "Thanks... for helping me I guess..." He stood up and turned around. I didn't realize I was holding my gun so tightly...

"You look pretty disturbed..." He continued, eyeing me up and down. A shiver went down my spine. The guy was covered in blood, and do I even need to mention what I just saw. "That's alright. I kind of lost it there."

My arm still felt hot. I kept my rifle aimed at his feet.

"Well... if you got questions... You better ask them now."

Better ask them now? What in the... "I don't... I..."

"Shocked?" He bent to pick up his gun, I aimed mine at him, making him freeze. Looking up, he tilted his head. "Please do."

I gulped. I didn't really know what to do now when he just stared at me like that. His mask and goggles obscured his face. I had no idea how he was looking at me.

"If you wanna kill me, by all means... Go for it." My heart skipped a beat. And not in a good way... Now he wanted me to kill him?

"Wha...why...?" I murmured, Hyperion rifle still pointed at his chest.

"It wasn't obvious?" He looked back at the furnace.

"You wanted revenge..." I glanced at the massive pile of red snow that he stood in.

"Pretty much." He shrugged. Why was he so damn CALM again?! "It wasn't as long as I wanted but..." He said, examining the ground. "She told me to be quick about it."

She? Who the hell was he talking about? I wanted to ask, something told me not to.

"Anyway, anything else you need to know?"

I flinched. This guy had a serious death wish now...! He didn't seem like he was kidding like before either.. "Why do you want me to kill you?" My voice was kinda hoarse.

"Again. Isn't it obvious?" He sighed.

"Yeah but..." What was I doing...? "Can't you... Don't you-"

"Why? What's left for me..?"

"I-"

"Look. I appreciate your... whatever you're doing. But honestly? I'm good. I'm ready to go."

"What about Jack?" I blurted out.

"What about him? He didn't kill her. I couldn't care less about him."

 _"Interesting. He seems like a strapping young fellow."_ Hammerlock's voice filled my ears. He was listening in the whole time?! " _Perhaps you could convince him to join us."_ I wanted to answer back but Gearhead was still giving me that "look".

"But... Jack caused all this to happen..." I fibbed. Well... it was partly true.

...

I really didn't want this guy to just off himself right here. It didn't feel right...

"..." He shifted uneasily.

 _"Yes, yes. An excellent point."_ I liked Hammerlock, but I honestly couldn't tell if he was being serious or not. " _Using the already twisted image of our fearless leader Jack to sway the mood of this bandit to join our cause might seem rather malevolent at first glance. But if you look at it differently, say... well.. to provide him with a reason to live. Then I suppose there's no harm in that now, is there?"_

Damn it... This would've been so much simpler if I had Deathtrap out!

"And how exactly did he cause... _this."_ He gestured to... everything.

"Well..."

"Wait, wait, wait... Spare me the crap." He picked up the sniper despite me still aiming at him. "I can see the lie right on your face." ...Goddamnit, man...! He was so. Freaking. CALM! Like last night when...

...

I had an idea.

"I thought you wanted to get to Sanctuary..."

"I also held a gun to your head. You honestly think you know what I want?" Well, crap. That was not the answer I was expecting.

"But the resistance..." I lowered my gun a little as to not tempt him further. "They could use someone like you."

"Why?" Somehow I thought he would've answered with more sarcasm.

I was really taking a risk here. "You're... you're not done with your revenge..."

"Oh yeah?" He crossed his arms.

"Juggernaut was just... a pawn. Jack's the real mastermind behind everything." I watched him tilt his head down, though I was pretty sure his eyes were still on me. "He makes deals with all the bandits. He made a deal with Flynt for my head, remember?"

Gearhead didn't move. I took that as a sign that he was listening.

"So who's to say that he didn't make deal with Juggernaut?"

"Except Juggernaut didn't get to make one yet." He said matter-of-factly. Crap. "He had to get a hold of Hyperion first and I know for a fact that his stupid self-was concerned with more... baser things."

"But, don't you see?" I was winging it here. I still don't know why I listening to Hammerlock's requests. Odd enough, I think I wanted to see if I could convince him. That wasn't weird, was it? Nah, it wasn't weird. "Jack promised to bring peace to the lands, right? Instead, he's paying bandits to hunt people like me and maybe people like you also."

"And what exactly are you and I...?" I think I had this.

I took a deep breath and smiled as best as I could. "Well... Jack's trying to get to this thing called the Vault in order to control this world."

More silence.

"If he wins well... a lot of innocent people are gonna end up like... uh..." I saw him tighten his fists in his pockets. Had to tone it back a little. Man, I sounded so cold - It felt weird.

"And...?"

"You could save them..."

"Why would I..." He stopped, turning his head left... like before. That was the second time he did that... "But..." He spoke again. "Fine."

"Fine?" I repeated.

"Take me to Sanctuary." He inhaled deeply.

"S.. seriously?" I could hardly believe my ears.

"Yeah." He shook his head of the blood before removing his goggles. I went stiff at the sight of his eyes...

One green. One... red.

The red one caught my attention as he nonchalantly wiped his goggles before setting his eyes back on me. I didn't say anything about them as he slipped them back on.

"By the way..." I blinked as he gazed at the sky for a second.

"Yeah?"

"Flynt's still alive."

* * *

 **End of Chapter**

 **Author's note: I'm like... really nervous about how this one came out. If chapter four was me playing with fire, then this one I was practically dancing with it...**

 **What do you guys think? Did it come out alright? Did it not? Lemme know and remember, have a good day and I'll see you next chapter!**


	7. Seal the Deal

**Chapter 7: Seal the Deal**

* * *

I take it back. Last night was the best sleep I had ever gotten since coming here. I even managed to sleep more than two hours as well! Sure, they had my door chained and my windows barred because they were suspicious of me but still... best night ever.

This morning, however...

This morning sucked. Butt. Lots and lots of butt. I had to piss but there really wasn't a way out the room that wouldn't cause Gaige and her friends to flip out so I was stuck here in the meantime.

They had been... cautious around me, not rude mind you, just incredibly cautious. The Hammerlock dude had his eye on me the whole time I was with them. Probably due to the fact that I chained and roped his friend to the bedpost like it was some hardcore BDSM porn.

I chuckled. That was funny to me. That any of them thought to get some was a priority in my mind. And they think I'm the savage?

Please... I haven't had an actual shower in God knows how long - not because I didn't want to, but because there wasn't actually a shower to use. Speaking of... I should probably ask if they had a shower. Actually, I should probably ask if I could use their shower. I know for a fact that they had one. Gaige smelled faintly like a flower...

And no I didn't sneak into her room just to smell her. I just have some really acute senses as a side effect of...

...

Moving on... Shower. Yeah. I needed that. A toilet. I REALLY NEEDED that. The urge was incredibly strong to the point where I was half tempted to bang on the walls. But they were all probably asleep so I just sat there doing the dance of urgency as best as I could.

 _ **Knock! Knock!**_

Oh, thank God!

"Hey..." It was Gaige. She sounded... off. I couldn't really blame her. I was the guy who made her like that.

"Yeah?" I tried to hide the urgency in my own voice.

"I'm making breakfast. You allergic to anything?"

"No. Unless you're making food with Eridium."

There was a moment of awkward silence... I don't know why though.

"Seriously." She said.

Seriously what? "I am being serious. Eridium messes with me." Partly true. In reality, Eridium REALLY messes with me. Moderate to severe migraines, nausea, extreme shaking. I get this tickle at the back of my throat too... Don't ask me why it does, it just simply did.

"Alright, whatever." I heard her beginning to walk off.

"Wait!" I pressed against the door. "I really have to go to the bathroom."

"So go in the corner." Wow, okay. Not saving her life anytime soon.

"Come on!" I hit the door. Even my old camp had toilets... "You can watch me or whatever! Come on!"

That sounded wrong, but whatever, a man had to do his business.

"I'm not letting you out just like that." I heard her footsteps fade away. Internally screaming in agony, I glanced towards the window. Metal bars had been placed on the inside to prevent me from escaping as per our agreement.

I certainly wouldn't just smash the window open and take a whizz. Then I'd have to deal with the cold, which I'm sure they wouldn't even lift a finger to help me with. No holes in the floorboards, no cups in the room. There was a box.

I sighed. I really didn't want to use this.

Slipping off my goggles, I closed my both my eyes and inhaled... Upon exhaling, I opened the right one. Instantly a fizzing sound filled the room as did sparks jump off a small pinpoint area on the glass case. I made a moderately small circle with my vision before closing my eye and opening both of them...

Popping out the small circular incision I had just made with what many would probably call an "eye laser beam", I hastily unbuckled my pants and did my business - sighing in one part frustration in having to use this excuse of a toilet... that, and another part in relief.

...

Okay, so my right eye was special. I mean, how could it NOT be?! It was freaking bright red! Who the hell has bright red eyes and is also a human?! That's why I wore goggles - to hide that fact... And also because it was very windy sometimes...

And because of Rakks trying to gouge your eyes out...

...

I found some use for that box though - to cover the now noticeable hole in the window. It didn't bother me if they found out about the window, I was just cold.

 ** _Knock! Knock! Crik._**

The little mail slot on my door (I don't know why they had one here of all places) opened. A plate holding two eggs, probably Rakk, and several slices of bacon and toast.

I wasn't sure what meat that bacon came from - it could've been a pig, Bullymong, hell, even human for all I know, but goddamn it I was starving and snatched it greedily.

"You're welcome." I heard her grunt on the other end.

"Thanks." I sat on the floor leaning against the door and slid my bandanna off my jaw.

"And sorry for not letting you out." I paused just as a fork-full of eggs were about to greet my mouth. "But Hammerlock still doesn't like you."

I hesitated for a moment at my next thought. Deciding to go for it, I replied. "And what if it was up to you?"

Some thumps. Pacing? "I dunno. You saved my life."

"I did." I really did though. Juggernaut would've... Eh... Enough about Juggernaut. He was dead. For good this time.

I think.

"At the same time, you're also a dick." Charming... but probably true.

"For tying you up?"

"And messing with my arm."

What... "Messing with your arm? I didn't do anything to it besides looking and chaining it."

More moments of silence passed.

"I didn't touch you." I think I had to clarify _and_ emphasize that point with this one. "I think it would've been obvious."

I heard her shift behind the door.

"Why?"

Was she... serious? She wasn't serious, right? "Are you actually asking me why did I not _rape_ you?" That came out more blunt than planned.

"N-no! I meant... like why did you threaten to do it if you didn't want to in the first place?" Her voice was lower, down to my level. She had to be sitting too. Or kneeling... why would she kneel? No. She was sitting.

"You _shot_ me in my freaking knee." I was a little annoyed at that memory. "After you took _my_ gun."

"Yeah, I know that...!" She huffed. "But you... You..!"

"Looked ready to kill you?" Was she trying to incite a guilt trip out of me?

"Yeah... but you didn't. You made me think my friends were dead. You acted like a huge dick, but you didn't actually do anything..."

... She actually had a point. I had gone more out of the way than usual for this girl...

Why did I do that?

"It makes me think you're not just some bandit. A bandit woulda just died or killed me. You... you're so weird..."

I mean... aren't we all? Isn't this why Pandora is like this in the first place? "So?"

"So- uh..."

"You want me to apologize or something, kid?"

Even more silence. And then, "Well... not really."

"I should be saying the same thing about you."

"What?"

"I mean, come on...!" I bit into some toast and bacon. "You shot me. Twice. Not once. Not at all. TWICE. And then-"

"Whoa! Whoa! The first time doesn't even count! I was fighting for my life!"

"You _thought_ you were fighting for your life... In reality, you were making a whole bandit camp collectively crap themselves."

Right there. Did her breathing hitch? Or did she snicker? And why was I looking out for such a thing?

"I'm sorry I shot you then." Her tone was heavy with sarcasm. "In all fairness, you DID point your gun at me."

"Of course I did!" I rolled my eyes. "You walked into my camp and started killing _everyone_! What the hell was I supposed to do? Give you a medal?"

Again, her breathing seemed to jump. Pretty sure she was laughing at me... well... What I was saying anyway.

"You could've said, "Hey, wait! I'm not one of them!"

"Really?! You would've just upped and believed that?"

Even _more_ silence. Followed by, "Well..."

"Uh huh." I didn't even give her a chance. "Thought so. Just be glad it turned out like this."

"Be glad it turned out this way..." She repeated her mood shifting.

"Yeah. Be glad we're on a talking level. Instead of one of us, face down in a snowbank." I fought the urge to say her but... she also could get me to Sanctuary...

"I guess..." Her voice was much clearer now. She must've been facing the door. "One more thing."

I narrowed my eyes. Was she gonna ask about them?

"Why _did_ you tie me up?"

Oh. To scare her? No. I could've just as easily done that by chaining her left arm to the bedpost while her whole body remained free...

...

Why did I do that?

"Uh..."

"Did you really just go "Uh..."?" I heard her surprise.

"I can't actually remember." Complete, one-hundred percent truth.

"What." She said in disbelief.

"There was a reason I did it at the time... Maybe to scare you or maybe I planned to interrogate you, I don't know. All I can say is that whatever it was, it disappeared when I was going through your stuff."

"Gee... thanks..." I blinked... Suddenly I caught a glimpse of Anais shaking her head at me, a look of disappointment on her face. She didn't approve.

"You want me to make it up to you?" I sighed.

And guessed it... Silence. But this time she actually didn't answer.

"Is that a yes or a no?" Out the corner of my eye, I saw my sister again shake her head. Man... the things I do for her... "Lemme make you another deal, kid."

"Mechromancer." She stated. "I'm the Mechromancer, not a kid. I'm eighteen for God's sake."

Oh... How coincidental. "Oh, well... Look at that. We're both the same."

"You're a teenager?" What the hell was that supposed to mean?

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You're pretty big for an eighteen-year-old boy." I almost chuckled at the... subtle double entendre that only my mind noticed. But in all honesty, I had to give credit to Pandora for altering my body type. I used to be lean and wiry but... ever since I got here, I've added a couple more pounds of muscle.

Turns out living here was an exercise session in itself. Except there was no resting and ninety percent more death.

"And? What does being fit have to do with anything? You're pretty small for an... no... never mind, you're not."

"You dick." Third times the charm.

"That's three times. Can I get another?" I wolfed down the last of my bacon.

"You dick." She repeated again, her tone seemed... happier. Who knew why. Maybe I got on her good side? Or she was faking that I got on her good side? Shoot... as long as she wasn't actively trying to murder me now.

"Can I use your shower?" I burped out loud. That was pretty freaking good. Still didn't know what meat was that bacon made out of.

"What makes you think we have one?"

Should I say my earlier thought? Wouldn't that be awkward and... WHY WAS I CONCERNED ABOUT THAT?

"I mean... I kinda smell. And you don't. So I assume you have one..."

This next moment of absolute silence was the longest one out of all of them. "I'd have to watch you."

Oh... Not sure how I felt about that. "Watch me shower..." I elucidated.

"Yeah. Not just you getting in and out either. The whole thing. You can't close the curtains." She acted like it was the craziest thing she ever did.

I grinned. This was kind of funny. "Don't you got a porn magazine...?" I asked with a smirk, practically feeling the heat from her flushed face. "What, never seen a guy's junk before?"

"You're not getting that shower." I heard her stand up and quickly walk away.

...

Damn it. Well, now what I was gonna do? After she effectively denied me access to probably the only working shower in a hundred miles, I felt some sort of guilt of pegging her so much - though it was more of me being completely morose over the idea that I'd have to wait for Sanctuary for one. If that place still existed that is...

Last night, I had some doubts. Not because I thought I wasn't gonna make it, but because that Hyperion space station up there had been firing mortars at... something.

It wasn't really something... and it damn well didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what the heck was going on. Sanctuary was the home of the Crimson Raiders, some sort of militia resistance that were up against the whole Hyperion Corporation...

Put two and two together and... well... no, I guess it doesn't make it that clear. Okay, I had some doubts about this place. After all, yesterday was the first time I ever heard of it even. Yet these three were firmly convinced that Sanctuary actually existed.

Maybe it was the pessimist in me that believed that. Who knew at this point.

I wondered, however... If Sanctuary didn't exist anymore... what would that mean for them. And more importantly, what would that mean for me?

The whole deal was that we'd aid each other to get to Sanctuary... but if it didn't even exist or worse, was destroyed then what did that mean for this temporary truce?

* * *

It was well into the morning now before Gaige came back. By then, the Hammerlock dude and... ugh...the Claptrap.

I didn't necessarily _hate_ Claptrap units. It's just... they're so annoying at times, it's a real headache. And don't even get me started with doors... They were made specifically to open then and yet they still managed to find a way to screw that up.

All the more luck to encounter one in the middle of a Frozen Wasteland, huh? At least, there weren't any doors that needed to be open.

"Hey. Gearhead." I really thought she was gonna replace "Gear" with the word meaning male genitalia.

"Yeah?"

"Step back from the door."

I was on the bed actually but, "'Kay."

I heard a couple of clinking and clanging, most likely from the chains and bars on my door. The other possibility was that she managed to get Deathtrap, as she called it, out.

...oh. That wasn't a good scenario. I strongly hoped I was actually wrong about that. STRONGLY hoped. That robot of hers... No. That... could stay out of my life - however wild it may have been.

With a healthy level of anxiety, I held my rifle close to me - another benefit per our agreement. I get to keep my stuff, they get to keep me in here.

The door cracked open, immediately I recognized that easygoing face I first saw before I died. Exaggeration of course.

"Aha! So YOU'RE the one that hurt my friend!" ... "PREPARE FOR PAYBACK!" Dear God, that was irritating. I stuck my boot out as the Claptrap unit charged me, he struggled to grab for me as I held my leg out.

"C.P. chill out." In stepped the Mechromancer, again, as she called it, herself. Except this time she wasn't wearing her winter clothes... What kind of hybrid mess of a hoodie was that?! And did she notice her one of her tank top straps were sliding off her shoulder?

... No really, this was a problem. I was paying too much attention to this girl. I had to reevaluate myself.

"So... as you already know." She started. Claptrap tried to swipe my leg away... "Tried" being the key word here. "This is Claptrap. And-"

In stepped a rather aged man with a complexion similar to mine. First thing I noticed, he too, had a cybernetic arm and leg, though it wasn't as thoroughly complicated as Gaige's. "This is Sir Hammerlock."

Sir... Hammerlock... Oh here we go...

"At your service. " The man stood up straight and saluted before hiding his hands behind his back. I could see his rifle holstered behind him. The second thing I noticed, that mustache. Now I know for a fact they had running water. That mustache was well kept. Better than the chopped up stubble job I had on my chin. In my defense, I only had a knife to keep myself hygienic.

"Fortunately that is only in saying... Ah, so this is the devil that caused all that ruckus last night..."

Devil. Nice. "So." I shifted my leg as the Claptrap unit finally jumped... rolled to the left. "What's the deal with this introduction?" Gaige pulled Claptrap away. About time.

"Well... We need to talk about plans."

Before I could ask what she meant, "Right! Plans!" Ugh. "I have a master plan! To get to Sanctuary, we need to retrieve my boat from the clutches of Captain Flynt! He's a real douche! Dumb as a bag of wrenches! Smells like old ham!"

I looked back at Gaige as Hammerlock shook his head. The Claptrap unit was still talking obviously. Something about torture and Flynt. Nothing I didn't know about.

"So we really gotta go through Flynt to get to Sanctuary, huh?" I asked, rubbing my gun. Not that it was a problem.

"And his first mates, Boom Bewm."

"Already taken care of." Did I sound like I was gloating, I felt like I was gloating. Maybe just a little.

"Wait... Boom Bewm is dead?" She widened her eyes. How was that a surprise?

"Brown bread. Simply red." Yeah... pretty sure I was gloating.

"Wait... YOU killed Boom Bewm!? HAHAH! THIS IS GREAT! Even if you ARE just a bad guy! Now we're one step closer to taking down that jerkbag Flynt and-"

"How'd you do it?" She asked, now attempting to hide her awe. Yes. Awe. She was in awe. I could tell from the way she leaned closer.

I also had to fight the overwhelming urge to reply with, _"with a gun"_. "I was scouting for Flynt's total army strength when I ran into them. It was a bit unpleasant." I stood my gun on its stock, pointing at the ceiling. "For _them_ anyway."

"Ugh, Zeke..." I heard Anais groan with annoyance. "Seriously?"

I smiled. "What? It was."

"It was what?" I blinked as Gaige stared at me. Claptrap was still... being Claptrap.

"What?"

"You said, "It was"."

"Oh." I looked left. Anais was gone. "Nothing. It was nothing." I played it off cool. "Though Flynt would be an idiot to not send more men to guard his that place."

"You have a plan for that?"

"Yeah," I answered.

There was some silence from her again. The Claptrap unit was saying something about Flynt, you get the idea.

"And that plan is...?" She elaborated.

I stared at her through my goggles. "Kill them?"

"I know that part." She let out a sigh. "I meant how do you plan on doing that?"

Oooh! The urge was strong. I had to say it. I wanted to say it.

"And you better not say, "with a gun"."

Ruined. This girl completely ruined it. To my side, Anais snickered. I shot her a glare through my goggles before turning it back to the ruiner of whimsical remarks.

"Alright." I sighed with maybe just quite the amount of annoyance. "My original plan was to sneak past the brunt of them..."

"Okay? What changed now?"

I looked at this girl with an expression that just _screamed_ disbelief. Though... now that I think about it, the bandanna and goggles actually hid my facial expressions pretty well... "You think all four of us could creep past... I dunno, a couple dozen bandits?" I folded my arms. Yes. My sarcasm was much clearer now. "'Specially with "that"?" I pointed at the Claptrap unit.

I did my best to ignore the... just soul piercing glare my sister was giving me now. I could only be so nice for so long. Plus I was pretty freaking serious. There was NO way we could sneak with a Claptrap unit following us.

"Him." Gaige narrowed her eyes at me. Insulted by my words, no doubt. I shrugged.

"Nobody's sneaking around as long as we're doing this as a group. Too many things could go bad."

"So what do suggest we do? Go in guns blazing?"

I smiled.

* * *

 **End of Chapter**

 **Author's Note: I'M BACK!**

 **Also, have a wonderful day and I'll see you all next chapter.**


	8. Robot Boy

**Chapter 8: Robot Boy**

* * *

You know what? I'm gonna be completely honest here...

This Gearhead guy was unintentionally funny.

"STOP BEING A TOOL, FLYNT!" Even with all the fire blazing around us, bullets ricocheting at us and being soaked in the blood of our enemies... He still found the time to make me snort and snicker. It was like his entire situation was a sitcom and I was his audience...

Except I was also getting shot at...

"WAHH!" And then there was C.P. being... himself.

 **"Scared, Gearhead?!"**

"OBVIOUSLY!"

 _ **BANG!**_

I saw Flynt stumble forward into his own geyser of flames.

...

DID I MENTION THAT HE SEEMED TO BE IMPERVIOUS TO FIRE?!

"NOT! Gotta work on that timing..." Gearhead was on the move again and man oh man was he quick! I mean the bandit... Sorry... EX-bandit moved so freaking fast, I couldn't keep track of him.

"MURDERING YOU IS GONNA FEEL SO RIGHT!" Oh crap. More psychos.

 **"Forget the girl! Get HIM!"** Wow. That was just insulting. He literally decided that I was so insignificant that they all could just ignore me...

Good thing, too. I've been wanting to use this grenade.

 _ **Shink! BOOM!**_

Flynt roared and covered his visor. Blood began to run down the face of his helm. The psychos weren't even moving anymore.

That's basically the gist of it. Since this morning, me and him had stormed Flynt's camp, intending to leave this icy rock for good. An army of two and well... Claptrap, versus an army of at least a hundred.

One hundred marauders. The two of us...

Yep. We were badasses.

"Son of a...!" Gearhead cursed. He was manhandling the lever on his rifle. Must've jammed it. It was okay, though. Flynt was waving around one arm and swinging his shotgun around with the other. "You could _help,_ you know?!"

I rolled my eyes and fired at the Captain. The Captain of _fire_. The Captain who was _currently_ on _fire_. See where I'm coming from? He didn't, so I gave him a mocking look after. I was particularly useless right now.

"Rrr **rrr-AHH!"** He was pretty ballsy, too, running up to smack Flynt's shotgun away with his own rifle. He then spun on his heel, swinging upward and knocking him back with a really nice hit.

I circled them, staying close enough to intervene should-

...

Wow. He was really kicking Flynt's ass... Gearhead was only the size of a marauder, meaning Flynt was at least twice his height and width. And judging by the literal anchor on his back, I'd guess and say he was twice as strong as him too.

With all that in mind, it was _really_ surprising to see him get knocked around by Gearhead like he was a Bullymong or something.

I just hoped Flynt wouldn't resort to using that freaking anchor he carried on his back... THAT looked like it would've hurt. Like seriously, that thing was as big as Deathtrap!

Can we talk about the fact that Flynt actually decided to pick up an anchor one day and thought, "Hmm, this'd be a GREAT idea for a weapon!" I mean COME ON! WHY?

"Goddammit, Gaige!" He spun around a wild, drunken punch from Flynt, giving the guy that was twice his size a mean straight punch. Though I doubt it did any _real_ damage because you know... twice his size and all that.

I leapt in and grabbed ahold of his collar, pulling him behind some medium-sized cover. Claptrap was... Oh for God's sake, he was still running around with his hands in the air...

"Not even gonna question how or why he can control fire..." Gearhead grumbled while trying to catch his breath. I could tell from the way his broad chest heaved up and...

...

Disregard that statement.

"Alright, new plan." He peered over the cover. I don't know why, but I felt my cheeks flush after I snuck another peek at his figure... Gearhead kinda... filled his outfit out well...

What? I can do that if I want to...!

"How good can you throw a punch?" He suddenly asked. The sound I made wasn't coherent, only because he caught me off guard. What?! He did!

"I can-"

"Never mind that. Just hit him when I say." Well, excuse me... He leapt over the cover. What a showoff...

I crept closer to the rampaging, on fire man-giant. My left arm was ready to meet that guy's face.

But I wasn't.

Especially with him swinging the DAMN ANCHOR around now! Damn it!

"Grah! You're making it really hard to murder you!" Gearhead growled. I sniggered. But yeah, Flynt was only dangerous because of how close we were...

I mean we could've just SHOT him by now but... for some reason the fire made him impervious to bullets? I dunno.

...

This world's neat.

 _ **WHOOSSH!**_

HOLY SHIT! That was close! Any second later and he could've taken my freaking head off! WHY WAS I DOING THIS?

 _ **CLANK!**_

"Gotcha!" Gearhead just... I mean... He just grabs for the anchor which was stuck in the floor. Flynt recklessly lurches back obviously... Oh! This is where I was supposed to come in.

 **"GRAH!"**

 **THUD!**

No... No... I timed that wrong... This is NOT where I was supposed to come in. That seriously hurt... That really hurt... and based on how Gearhead went limp, it'd hurt just as bad as him too...

Okay so... I went for that big punch, right? But at the _same_ time, Flynt decided to swing his anchor which just so happened to unlodge itself and Gearhead didn't let go...

We both rolled and tumbled before hitting a couple of boxes and lying still...

The amount of pain I was in, holy shit... That and I couldn't move because Gearhead ended up on top of me, too - that sounded wrong. He was knocked out cold on m- okay that's not helping.

I struggled to get a closer look at Flynt-

What the hell?! Was he still blind?!

"Gearhead..!" My voice was hoarse (probably because of him crushing me... Shut up). "Gearhead...! Wake up...!" I squirmed under him. God! How much did he weigh!?

 **"-little shits!"** I could barely hear Flynt above the roaring of the flame pillars and dull ringing in my ear.

"Uhnh..." ...okay.

Um... Dunno why but... I kinda liked the sound he just made... That... that was weird... No denying that... Yeah...

"My head..." He flipped onto his back next to me, covering his goggles, which were broken by the way... "Oh, what the... You broke my goggles, you tool...!" He groaned.

"You alright...?" I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to sit up. I felt worse than after I sawed my own arm off.

"Hold on..." He started feeling his own chest up... "Peachy... You?"

I felt myself up. It hurt but everything seemed to be okay. "I'm alive."

"Alright, even newer plan." He staggered to his feet, dropping his shattered goggles the floor.

I stood up. I could see his different colored eyes staring down the...

Why is still flailing around like that? What exactly was in that grenade?

"So I should probably warn you about something..." Annnd there go the bad feels.

"Uh..." I got my left arm ready. I didn't know what was going through this guy's mind.

"You're about to see me do some weird crap. Don't panic." He started walking forward.

Whoa, whoa, whoa... What. "Hey! Wait a minute!" I caught up with him. "What're you talking about?!"

"I'm gonna do some weird crap." He turned his head to me. Those eyes of his were... vivid... "This one right here." He pointed to his red one. "You're about to see something new here. Normally, I wouldn't use it but... This guy ruined my goggles. So he's about to get the special treatment."

Something told me I was about to see some next level stuff... Like some final boss type stuff.

Man... I REALLY had to get my arm fixed. Having Deathtrap stuck in there made me feel so... vulnerable... and helpless to boot.

"Hey, FLYNT!" Gearhead yelled. That got the Captain's attention. "You wanna torture me?" He just stood there, hands on his hips, taunting that guy. "Wanna make me eat my own guts?" Flynt huffed and stomped toward Gearhead.

I wanted to do something... but I couldn't stop watching. What the hell was he gonna do? No really, what was he gonna do?! NO, REALLY. FLYNT WAS ALMOST IN HIS FACE!

...

I missed it. I missed it...! Gearhead did... Well, he did _something_ , and Flynt just jerked back, clutching his head in agony. I could hear him screaming over the flames too...!

 **THUD!**

Flynt hit the ground - really thought the ship was gonna fall from the glacier too, phew! Gearhead stepped toward his head. Oh maaannn... What am I about to see...?

"Eh..." Gearhead stepped on his neck. "There's probably a witty one-liner here somewhere." He said, before staring directly into Flynt's visor and...

...

HOLY SHIT.

* * *

 **End of Chapter**

 **Author's note: Ayyy... Look at me getting back into it. See Y'all next chapter and remember, have a wonderful day!**

 **Also a very special thank you to Drias' Broken Ca5tle. Thanks, matey!**


	9. Love the Pain

**Chapter 9: Love the Pain**

* * *

...

...

CAN'T TAKE THE HEAT! DAMMIT!

There's that witty one-liner... Dammit...!

"Is it over?! Is Flynt dead?!" The Claptrap- where the hell was he this entire time?!

"Beyond dead! Look at him!" That girl, Gaige, looked pretty surprised about what just happened.

Heh... Told her so. But yeah, she was kinda right. Flynt was pretty dead.

...

And by pretty dead, I meant, of course, that I _fried_ him. Literally. Crisp. Burnt. Well-done with a bit of seasoning. I was proud. A bit smug, too, if I might add.

There was always a reason why Juggernaut never bothered with me. And whew... I was tired... Doing that with such intensity really drains one energy. Also, my head still kills from where that frickin' anchor smacked me.

Oh yeah. Did I mention I was just smacked across the head by an anchor? A ship anchor. Probably weighs about a ton... Right across my goddamn temple. Pow. Lights out.

And then I wake up on top of the cute girl who killed my friends, stole my gun and shot me twice in one day.

Pandora is freaking great.

"What'd I just see?" And cue her. Right on time.

"What now?" With great disinterest - and I want to emphasize the "disinterest" part - I glanced at her. It wasn't so much as her that was boring me, no, she still held my att-

...

I was just _really_ tired now and ready to get off this stupid ship.

"Nonono. What did you JUST do?!"

Oh... I was being interrogated by- oh screw it, I was too exhausted for my usual sarcasm. "Laser beam." I yawned. "Fried him from the inside out." I started for the back of the ship... I forget the correct term for it though.

That's when she touched me.

No. I don't mean sexually, jeez... She put her hand on my chest. Her metal hand. Ooo, I was giving her the "stare" now...

"Hold on a sec...!" Even though we both knew how easily she could put her hand through my chest and rip out my heart...

...heh... She'd be surprised though...

"You can do that?! Shoot a _laser_ out your eyeball?!"

"Yeah." My sarcasm was empty... like my energy.

I needed to eat something. Or take a nap. Or both. Yes, actually. Both.

"Wha..." Oh... She was completely speechless now. Works for me.

"Ha-HAH! YES! TAKE THAT, FLYNT!"

And I thought I was irritated before. I wanted to claw my eyes out and eat them now. The Claptrap unit just had a knack of making me want to jump off a cliff. I think they were designed to do just that actually. Guess that's why they were so rare now. I wonder who decided that these were a good idea...

"You had the power to control fire! A menacing demeanor! Even a large following! But in the end, it was us - the Underdogs! That bested-!"

Ugghh... the back of the ship was locked shut by a metal shutter. I was half-tempted to throw myself through it to escape from the incessant ramblings of the Claptrap unit, but the switch next to it would have to suffice.

"Hold it..!" Gaige was on my butt wherever I went now. Figuratively. "How?!"

I let out an exhausting sigh of relief as I flipped the switch, the rattling of the shutter opening barely heard above my rather loud yawn. "How what?"

"How did you do that?!"

"I flipped the switch." I shrugged my shoulders.

"Not the shutter, you ass!"

Jokes on her. I was actually talking about my eye. "Yeah, I know. Same deal."

"Could you be more specific?!"

"Why? What's it matter to ya?" No, really. She was more nosy than usual.

"Wha-? Are you kidding?!"

"...no?"

She flaunted her left arm. "I'm a mechanic! Machines are my life!"

I don't think she realized how that sounded to me... a clear as day HUMAN... that's maybe slightly bionic...

I'm just gonna let that slide since she didn't mean it. "I thought you said you were a Mechromancer?"

"I mean..! That's just a title." I blinked. "Cause, necromancer? Mechromancer? And my bot is named Deathtrap?" Her cheeks began to flush. Why... I found that kind of cute... I dunno.

That was some weak-tea of a title, however. Probably something a five-year-old would've come up with.

"What?" I hadn't realized that I've been staring at her. "Don't look at me like that. Like "Gearhead" is any better...!"

...

Did I say my thoughts out loud? No, right? How the hell did she... Never mind it. "Hey. I didn't choose that nickname. The guy we brutally murdered did." I saw her eyebrows furrow as if she had to think about that.

Holy crap... the amount of men we murdered today... that was just _today_. Not that I felt bad or anything; they were all pretty much psychotic, bloodthirsty, rabid animals wrapped in human flesh. Throw a bit of "great, they've got superpowers" and it's kind of hard to feel pity for them.

For an example, if I shoot a guy in his head, I fully expect him to stop moving and go limp. Maybe have his soul leave his body or some crap. I DO NOT expect said guy to clutch his head and scream in rage and come at me with newfound strength. That's a no. A big no. Strayed a little too far off topic because next thing I knew, Claptrap was messing with some switches and junk. Another shutter opened at the back of the garage/workshop/whatever the hell is this room.

And then it hit me... A dull pain in my head and spine. Was I hurt? Hell no. It'd take a lot more than a stupid anchor to do some real damage. No, _that_ pain... was clearly a reaction. Just happened out of nowhere. Which meant my body, my existence, my... entire soul was reacting to something so sinister, so malevolent, so wicked that just the thought of it would scare me away...

There was a freaking Eridium bar nearby.

"Oh sweet! Eridium!" Case in point. I hated that stuff. "Hate" is a strong word. Anais always told me to never use it because I never meant it. Except that I do... I hate eridium. I hate Eridium so frigging much. And this whole planet seems to THRIVE off of it.

Go figure.

"Ugh..." I found myself slithering away from her as she held the bright amethyst bar nonchalantly, a perturbed look on her face at my own expression.

"Wait." She frowned as she tucked the bar away in her little satche- how did that even fit in there...? "Were you serious about the whole Eridium thing?"

I had to pause for a moment. I don't know if she was being flat-out dumb, or... Well... I guess the whole idea of being... I guess you can say "allergic" to Eridium to be quite far-fetched.

So imagine the idea of it actually being somewhat true.

That was me in a nutshell. Eridium made me shake... or rather, I felt as though the whole world trembled beneath me...

Oh crap, the ship was actually shaking...!

"What's this?! What's happening?!" I grabbed onto a locker, my fingers unintentionally digging into the cold, hard steel for support. I saw her do the same...

Shoot. I didn't know what was what. Maybe Flynt magically resurrected from his recent demise. Or maybe we were about to be attacked by a demon. Who knows with Pandora.

"Aha! There she is! Me mighty vessel! Lower her in the water, ye salty dog!"

Oh. _That's_ his ship? The smaller one hanging from stern?

...

Probably should've expected this by now, though based on the equally surprising look on Gaige's face it probably was something unheard of.

Though the ship was quite small compared to Flynt's, it was still spacious enough to accommodate the three of us... er... four (Anais included). At least, that was what I initially believed, until I had a sneak peak of the ship's interior...

There were only two bedrooms...

And I was NOT sharing a room with the Claptrap bot.

I came to that conclusion long before the ship had touched the water. I wasn't so sure what they thought of the limited cabin room. I personally didn't care. I took an anchor to the face.

"And now, to set sail for Sanctuary!" We heard Claptrap over the speakers, followed by the boat's horn.

"Uh..." My eyes briefly met the Mechromancer's. Oh boy, I wonder if she was gonna pester me the whole entire time about my arm. "So... about that other room... There isn't actually a bed in it..."

...

Oh.

Well...

This just got awkward.

* * *

 **End of Chapter**

 **Author's Note: I have awoken from my hibernation.**


	10. Good Times

**Chapter 10: Good Times...**

* * *

Thirteen hours.

I was condemned to this boat for thirteen hours with the guy.

This guy that had been a part of a vicious, depraved group of bandits before I came across him. This guy that snuck into my room and threaten to do unspeakable things to me except he didn't actually mean it and was messing with me the whole time.

The same guy who was actually a bit suicidal and was just waiting for the moment to end his own ex-leaders' almost invulnerable life to let go of his own. The very same guy who worked together with me to kill Captain Flynt, King of the Rippers.

He also can shoot freaking _LASERS_ out of his eyes...

AND... TAKE A HIT IN THE FACE FROM A SHIP ANCHOR...

But he's completely fine. No, absolutely, one hundred percent, positively fine. No damage whatsoever to that sarcastic, smug face of his.

"Yeah, but I killed Flynt." He blinked, all while he leaned casually against the wall. Not a single care for the world it looked like.

What an ass.

"First of all, I helped."

" _That_ was help? You kinda just stood there."

I... damn... Okay, maybe I actually was just standing there watching them duke it out... He got me there. But in my defense, Flynt was basically impervious to bullets and unlike boss-mode bandit here, I _wasn't_ actually invincible...

I couldn't take a ship anchor to the face and stand up rubbing my forehead... and I'm pretty sure he didn't realize this as he sat there... WITH THAT SMUG-ASS LOOK.

Jeez... if only I had D.T.

"If you hadn't messed with the relay on my ar-"

He held up his hands. "Don't pin that on me. I didn't touch your arm. That's a piece of work I wouldn't dare to tamper with."

I wasn't sure how to feel about that obvious compliment.

"I mean I chained it up because... why wouldn't I?" I gave him a funny look, that moment was still fresh. I mean... it happened literally two days ago... if I remember correctly. "You can punch through solid concrete. _Solid. Concrete._ " He emphasized. I couldn't help but smirk. "I'd be an idiot to not do something about it, wouldn't I?"

"I'll take that compliment." He was right.

"Besides, I'm sure this piece of crap has more than one bed lying around somewhere." He said lazily.

"You see... That's where you're wrong." I almost stumbled as the whole ship bobbed a little. We were finally moving.

He shrugged. "That sounds more like a _you_ problem. Sleep on the floor." He said with a smirk and relaxed on the bed.

I just glared at the dick.

... Not his dick. I meant HIM. Him being the dick.

I wasn't looking at his dick!

"Move along now." He dismissed me. "I'm really tired and you're kinda bothering me."

I seriously wanted to punch him. Right in his freaking face. But strangely enough, just like when he asked me to end him... he narrowed his eyes at me, only it was like he was looking past me as if someone stood behind me. I glanced back just to make sure...

"Oh fine..." Gearhead slid to the furthermost side of the mattress. "You can take the bed." He grunted.

I was confused as all hell, for the lack of better words. This was the second time he had done this.

Now I was really curious... especially since he walked out of the room like he was a kid in trouble.

Strangely enough, he didn't even say anything as he sulked out the there...

What the hell was wrong with this guy...?

* * *

I was furious. More than furious. And aggravated... and annoyed... and angry... name a synonym. I was also cold.

I was sleeping on this cold, dirty floor; a simple tattered sheet underneath me kept me slightly comfortable.. and _of_ course, by _slightly_ comfortable, I mean moderate discomfort. Maybe even borderline severe...

As it turns out, alloys don't exactly give in like.. bone and flesh do... There's really no comfort whatsoever. Imagine resting your sleepy, tired head on a pole... a steel pole wrapped in flesh.

Doesn't sound too appealing now, does it? And then add the ship rocking back and forth, the fact that there was actually very _little_ to eat...

I think I saw a snack in Gaige's satchel... Some "Heartstoppers" they called it. Sounds more like a drug than a snack but... I'm getting hungrier by the second.

Maybe I should try to sleep it off...

"You should get some rest." Ah. There she was.

"You're a real downer." I flipped over just enough to look at her. It was... difficult... to look at my sister's face.

"And you're a real bully. What did I say about bullying?"

"...I wasn't really..."

She sighed... I think she smiled a little. "I know, I know... I was only joking. Now, who's the downer...?" She reached out for my shoulder... I... I think she was going for a pat.

It was like someone ran ice down my back. The way her hand clutched my shoulder blade yet... I felt nothing...

No heat. No warmth. Nothing.

...

It was really cold now...

"I'm sorry." Anais retracted her hand. I sat up quickly.

"Wait!" I called into the darkness...

And she was gone...

...

Always with the disappearing... It kinda made me upset. She would often do that. Just leave in the middle of things.

I use that statement lightly of course. I was feeling an array of emotions. Most of which were fueled by hunger and fatigue... and...

Damn... I wish that girl didn't ruin my magazine... I was feeling a certain type of way right about now. Slightly aroused. It'd been a while... I'll admit.

Hey. Sometimes I deserve a little "me" time, y'know?

...

I can't actually remember the last time I had some alone time. Like, actual time to relax... and to NOT be shot at, licking my wounds or worrying about what further wounds will I obtain.

What if I wanted to pump out some Eridium to some high-quality, naked babe that I'd never meet in life, huh?

Heh. I amuse myself.

"Ugh." My neck was sore. My spine was sore. Everything was sore. If that was even physically possible considering my current state...

And I had to sit through twelve hours of this? Oh my lord... This was going to be a very long night...

A very, very long night.

 ** _BZZZZ! BZZZ!_**

Now... let me just say... There are several things you don't want to hear while lying on the cold, damp and filthy floor of a ship cabin.

For an example, the revving of a chainsaw...

If I'm being completely honest... I probably would've died right here...

Had it not have been for my poor excuse for parents... and steel alloy arms.

 ** _KREEEEEEEEE!_**

Oh, but I did go deaf instantly. Metal on metal never sounds soothing...

* * *

How the _hELL DID BANDITS **GET IN THE FREAKING SHIP?!**_

 _ **"You smell like my little girl!"**_

 _ **WHERE THE HELL DID MY GUN GO?!**_

"OOF!"

Okay, so... A Psycho, a FRICKIN'. PSYCHO. SOMEHOW got on this ship. And had just now surfaced from whatever hole he was hiding in.

And I hear a chainsaw...

That was bad.

Really bad...

 ** _"I love you!"_** The Psycho screamed as he... Oh shit, a knife.

Luckily for me, a knife was nothing compared my arm. One swing. Ding-freaking-ding! Lights out!

He also probably died. Which, all things considered, was a win.

...

Where was Gearhead...?

And WHAT was the ringing sound?!

 _ **EEEEEEE!**_

And that sounded really _close!_ I had to be careful...!

I didn't want to meet my end here.

 _ **Thump!**_

Out the doorway, I saw some blood literally... _gush_ ou-

...

Gearhead...?

 ** _Buzzzzzzz..._**

I croaked... my throat was dry. "Gearhead...?"

"Kind of busy right now." You know that warm feeling you get in your chest and back when you're relieved? Yeah... Right about now.

 _ **"I'm... gonna choke and stroke your lifeless body!"**_

I heard the chainsaw rev up... but no one moved.

"What, with your little buzzsaw cutter?" Gearhead scoffed. I heard a grunt, followed by the sound of steel scraping against steel.

 ** _Whup!_**

The other Psycho, with the buzzsaw (I guess it wasn't a chainsaw after all), fell back on his ass. Gearhead came into view now... His Marauder self-splattered with fresh blood...

The buzzsaw-wielding psycho scrambled to his feet. Shoot... He had is wild gaze on me now.

 _ **Crack! Thud.**_

And that was all she wrote. Or rather... he wrote.

"Asshole..." I heard him swear under his breath. "You okay?"

I was taken aback by his sudden change of attitude. Here he was, painted with blood, his arms...

 ** _BZZZ!_**

"THE **FUCK?!"**

* * *

Where the hell do these psychos even come from?!

Seriously! A man just wanted to rest and he's gotta wake up to buzzsaws swinging at his fac-

 **"EYAAAAHHH!"** _This_ particular bastard thought he could kill me...

Yeah, he THOUGHT.

I smashed his nose into his brain for good measure.

 **"YES! HARDER! _HARDER!"_** He gleefully shrieked.

"Okay." I dodged that reckless swing, and smashed my right fist into his temple, knocking him into the wall. The psycho just stood up again. But this time, he dropped his buzzsaw...

I just watched the maniac, to be honest. I already knew this next punch was the finisher. Maybe he knew too... or not. They were psychos for a reason.

" **Start the clock! I'm gonna count every minute I get with you..."** His bloody, wild grin flashed in the dim hallway. I'd be scared if I hadn't been through what I've been through.

"Okay." I readied myself. I kinda wanted to see the look on his face when I was about to end it all.

...

Her face... I meant Gaige. Why was she making that face? Like she was worried...

 **"GRAHHH-"**

 ** _CrrACK!_**

What in Pandora was she worried about? I was fine. Completely fine.

"Again. You okay?" I cooly asked. I even made sure to check behind myself one more time... Friggin' bandits.

Gaige seemed to cautiously inspect the halls. Yeah sure. Like another friggin' psycho was gonna-

...

Okay. Just making sure.

"Yeah. I'm good. But you... you're covered in... guts." She glanced sideways at me.

I couldn't help but shrug. What else would you expect from psychotic bandits... I'm also getting really sick of the word "psycho"... "This isn't something new."

"You've been covered in blood before?" She rested her hands on her hips.

"Yeah. Except it was my _own_ blood." I don't think she realized I was referring to the moment I was catapulted out my own tower...

Ex-tower? Whatever. Tower.

"Okay? But I didn't tie you to a freaking bedpost and threaten to rape you now, did I?" I could hear her tone get a little serious. So I decided to fire back.

"You shot me...! In my _knee_!" I grabbed one of the corpses. "I _STILL_ feel it." Partly true. I did kinda feel the pain. Though it was more like an ache. "Where's my compensation for that, huh?"

"Your _compensation_..." She repeated with disbelief. "Sure. Okay. Let's say that you even _deserve_ that. Just what do you want, hmm?"

Perfect setup. "Well..." I casually, and by "casually" I meant "covered in blood, dragging a corpse casually", made my way into the room. "You did ruin my only magazine."

I swear I never saw her make that many faces in a span of two seconds. Her mouth formed a very shocked "o", followed by a look a bewilderment, finishing with a look of disgust. I wasn't finished.

"And I did just save your butt again technically..." I shot her a smirk, even though she couldn't see it through my helmet, she probably heard my amusement...

Good.

"So I'm thinking maybe... You know... You can-"

"I'm not going to screw you."

What. "What?"

"You heard me." What the hell?!

"I don't want to screw you!" She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes.

...

I'll admit. That was adorable... But no. I wasn't looking for that.

"I was referring to the bed, but okay."

"Yeah. Sure." Damn, she was cold. Understandable. But entirely unnecessary.

I wasn't _that_ desperate...

"So bed..." I continued, avoiding her gaze. Pretty sure she could kill me with it actually. "I'm getting it, right? Right." I wiped some blood off my arms, which... by the way, were glowing a dull red. Kind of like the glow you'd get from striking a blade with a hammer, you know?

I had to honestly be careful when they were like this because my arms were basically incandescent. I could sear my own flesh off if I wasn't careful.

Back to the whole awkward situation. Gaige hadn't answered me about sleeping arrangements instead giving me that death glare.

If I was being completely honest, I'd rather sleep on that cold hard floor than deal with this. "Fine, whatever." I shrugged. "Keep the bed," I muttered. I did a lot of things, including stuffing a corpse into a cabin.

Now it smelled like burning flesh. Thanks, Mom. Thanks, Dad.

...

Today had been a day.

But I felt as though tomorrow would be the icing on a rather abysmal cake.

* * *

 **End of Chapter**


	11. Even Better

**Chapter 11: Even Better...**

* * *

Yep. I called it. Today was gonna be just _fantastic._ Brilliant really. Thirteen hours of sleeping on the cold hard floor went exactly how I predicted. Slightly inconvenient.

And now here I was. Three Horns - Divide. It was cold, it was bright, and it seemed just as unforgiving.

At least... that's what it looked like from inside the boat, the Claptrap still had to dock... If he could even dock! Where was the harbor?!

...

THERE WASN'T ONE!

 _ **CRASH! CR-RAK!**_

I could hear Gaige shriek. She must've been asleep.

What a wonderful alarm clock the Claptrap was.

The ship groaned and shuddered to a halt, signaling the end of this horrid crossing and boy, I couldn't be more relieved. I was starving. The last time I had an actual meal was a few days ago when Gaige made me breakfast

Steamed Rakk meat... Mmm... I wondered if Three Horns was as littered with them as Southern Shelf was...

Lord, I hope so. Otherwise, I might have to resort to cannibalism... and Gaige was looking pretty delicious right about now...

...

You know I understand why she reacted the way she did now... I sounded exactly like Juggernaut and that wasn't a good thing.

Speaking of Gaige, here she was, looking as annoyed as ever. Most likely because of me. "Hey, sleepyhead." I casually greeted. No response was given. Yep. Exactly because of me.

I shrugged and went outside. The cold wind kissed my face like a brick, but I guess the sun countered it... barely...

Gaige had a long sleeve on under her vest hoodie. The hood hung over her eyes, probably to hide her glare. Guess she was still upset about last night. Couldn't really blame her either.

"We're near Sanctuary, buddy!" The Claptrap said over the speakers, possibly alerting every single enemy within a mile radius of our location. "You go on ahead - tell the locals what we'll require for my "welcome back" party. I'll stay here, and give 'em time to get what we need."

"How courteous of you..." I mumbled, before jumping off the ship onto the ice below.

"Number one: ladies. Obvious. Number two: dudes. But hideous ones. So you'll fit right in, bandit!"

I heard Gaige snicker.

"Haha..."

"We're also talkin' morbidly obese, we're talking body odor, we're talking acne scars. The ladies'll take one look at those uggos and BAM! I start lookin' pretty good!"

...

"Suddenly, it's not, "ew, get away from me you pervy little robot. You're creeping me out! Why are you crying? I didn't even know robots could cry -"

At the exact same moment, I heard an echoing rumble behind me. Whirling around, I whipped out my gun. On the horizon were a few bullymongs (fantastic), and at the entrance of the glacier pass, a bridge.

Whoa! A Bandit Technical! Haven't seen one of those in a while. It roared over the bridge with no effort, landing smoothly on the other side. Man, what I'd give to drive one of those again.

 _ **KA-BOOM!**_

GODDAMN! Excuse my language but whoever drove that Technical just blew up that bridge. Guess he wanted to make sure whatever was on that side didn't follow over.

 _" Sanctuary's off limits! You bloodshots can stay in your hole!" _Gaige's ECHO blared.

What the hell was a Bloodshot?

 _ **" I SEEEEEEE YOOOOUUUUU!" **_Two more Technicals, both of a familiar reddish hue cleared the gap between glaciers. Damn, what a sight.

" _A_ _wesome..._ " I heard someone sigh over her ECHO. Sounded like a pretty sane man compared to the obvious bandits that were after him. _" Why don't you boys run on back to your camp?"_

 ** _" Oh! Good idea! I think we'll just turn around and head back to our \- DIEEE!"_**

Classic bandits. Gotta love 'em. Gunfire littered the air and from her ECHO device. Clearly, that guy was having a bad day.

"C'mon." Gaige suddenly spoke. "We gotta get up there." She broke into a light jog.

I merely shrugged. "Lead the way."

* * *

You know... As stupid as Bullymongs were, they were persistent. Never seen one give chase that far, only to be viciously gunned down by us. He'd been following since we entered the pass.

"Watch it!" Gaige bellowed as the ground shuddered. An adult bullymong slammed into the floor, it's roar splattering saliva everywhere as it beat its chest. I took a pop shot at it just for good measure.

"Come on!" I could hear more emerge from whatever nest they crawled out from.

 _ **BANG! CK-KLIK! BANG! CK-KLIK!**_

Line it up! One! Two! THREE!

 ** _THUD! WHUMP!_**

FOUR! FIVE! SIX!

"Reloading!" I shouted. With no response from Gaige, I glanced back to her last position. That earned a rock to my skull...

I hit the ground and rolled. Just as I predicted, the savages charged me when they saw me fall.

 ** _KL-BLAM!_**

The skull of the adult exploded into the air. I shifted on the ground to avoid getting crushed by its corpse. A freaking monglet leapt on my chest. I felt the ice below me crack from the pressure.

It was a good thing I wasn't fully human or that would've killed me. Still, this little guy needed to screw off.

"GRAH!" Gaige smashed her Hyperion rifle across the Monglet's head, knocking it off of me.

Scrambling to my feet, I attempted to give her my thanks. "Thanks." I gave it to her.

She completely ignored it. Clearly, she was still upset at me. Understandable.

A symphony of roars signaled more Bullymongs. I reached for the grenade at my-

Where the eff was my effing grenade?!

"You got a plan here, bandit...?"

...

Did she just hiss? And call me _"bandit"_? Wow, I must've really pissed her off.

"I do." I reached into my satchel... It had to be around here somewhere... "It involves a device that explodes when I pull the pin from it's body."

"What, this?" She whipped out-

"THAT'S MINE!" I snatched it from her so quick. Now it-

"ARGH!" She waved her hand frantically. "THROW IT, JACKASS!" What in the world was she-

SHIT, SHE WAS HOLDING THE PIN THE ENTIRE TIME!

"HERE!" I launched that thing so fast...

Did I mention I used to play baseball?

 ** _BOOM!_**

That was close. The ringing of my ears indicated so. And I'm sensing a theme here of being on my back all the time...

She mumbled something along the lines of "ass"...

"Sorry..." I grumbled, rising to my feet yet again.

Wait, why am I completely at fault here? No one asked her to hold onto the grenade like that. Jeez.

We paused to catch our breath. I think we were near a camp... A Bloodshot camp that guy called it.

"There. The Catch-a-Ride." She ran ahead of me towards the post.

"The wha-?" I didn't attempt to break into a jog. One: it was too much effort. Two:... Uh... Nope. Guess that's it.

 _"Whoa! Unauthorized user up in my grill! You tryin' to hack my Catch-a-Ride?! Uncool, bro! Uncool...!"_ The terminal "berated" Gaige for... touching it I guess? I dunno. It looked like basic tech to me... Pretty hackable.

"This way." She pointed toward the camp...

...

The camp full of bandits.

"What? Why?" I was being serious.

"There's a wrecked Hyperion bot in there. If we grab its interface adapter, my friend can hack the machine for us. There's where we get our ride."

...what.

"Uh..." I didn't have time to protest as she marched towards the camp, gun cocked and ready.

I, however, had other plans. Plans that didn't involve getting into a massive shootout with crazed marauders and such.

It was evident, as much as it was improbable, that due to her anger, she neglected the fact I'm part...

Whatever... this was actually getting a little aggravating.

"Well..." _Fantastic_... "You did imply that you'd like to have intercourse with her."

"Wonderful timing as always, sis." I opened up the side of the terminal, and by "opened" I meant ripped it off.

"Deny it all you want, Ez. You thought about it."

"Maybe," I grunted, giving the interior a quick scan with my eye... Which wire, which wire... Hmmm.

"I didn't raise you to be like that..." I felt my face get hot. She was right... or maybe it was because I was hardwiring myself into a damn machine.

"I'm... I'm sorry..." I felt something zap my hand. Wrong one.

"You shouldn't be apologizing to me. You weren't trying to get into my pants."

"I wasn't...!" Damn, this was embarrassing. "I meant the bed..."

Anais rolled her eyes. "Apologize to her."

"Ooo..." Another zap. Only this time, the red hand distorted for a second. I was getting somewhere. "You see... I can't do that."

"Ezekiel." She shot me a look.

"Anais." I dug my hand deeper into the console. There... that red wire. Always the red wire.

" _Ezekiel_." She didn't bother to hide her irritation.

"Sis, she **_hates_** me. I tried talking to her several times now."

"Have you tried _apologizing_ , oh dearest little brother?"

"...no." I was having trouble getting into that wire. That is until she gently gripped my hand and guided it.

The whole machine locked... before shutting off. I shuddered too. Electric currents and all. "Then perhaps start with... _that_." At the same time, my wonderful sister then guided my hand back to the red wire, one final _zap!_ rebooted the Catch-a-Ride.

"Thanks..." I toggled the panel.

"Mmm..." Oh, now what...? "She ran in the camp by herself..."

I let out an exasperated sigh... but not a regular one, no. A _special exasperated sigh_. Because these ones were reserved for only the most inconvenient of times, you see?

"Hmph. You'd think I would get some after all of this crap..." I grumbled.

" _Authorized user accepted. Enjoy the ride and there's a Pimento Taco - a Pimentaco - in the glove box."_ The... I wanna say simple-minded audio interface, said.

A grayish armored dune buggy digistructed from thin air onto the platform next to the terminal. It had two guns, one machine gun in front and a mounted turret above the driver seat.

It wasn't a Technical... but it would definitely do. Leaping into the vehicle and hitting the starter button brought it to life. The roar of the engine vibrated the very air around me. Everything seemed to be running alright. Weapons, brakes, afterburners, cooling systems, etc. I was good to go.

On to saving her butt yet again...

...

How inconvenient.

* * *

 **End of Chapter**

 **Author's note: Here's two, to speed things up.**


	12. Mutual Benefits

**Chapter 12: Mutual Benefits**

* * *

"OH, I'M GONNA SMACK THE BITCH OUTTA YOU!" My chest burned from where I was cut. That friggin' marauder! Where did he even come from?!

"COME ON! COME ON!" Grrrr... Where the hell was _my_ marauder...? I swear to God if he jumped ship.

...

I was screwed... I was screwed if he did. And he was nowhere in sight...

...

Which... I dunno... Maybe it was because of the blood... maybe it was because of the lack of actual rest... but I felt calm... _too_ calm.

 _ **WHIZZ! CRACK!**_

Bullets pelted the barrel next to me... They all knew the general location I had hidden, just not exact... That was about to be over soon.

A low hum signaled by shields coming back online. It was now or never.

"WHO WANTS IT?!" I roared over the hell storm of rounds.

I lined it up, that cowardly marauder was dead. BANG! That Marauder was dead. Luckily, I didn't have to cock the lever. I didn't have Gearhead's...

...

Freaking Gearhead...!

 ** _Vrooom! BANG!_**

"Dumbass!" He ran over that Nomad and smashed straight into a concrete barrier. And _I'm_ the dumbass?!

...

Where'd he get the Runner...?

 _ **RATA-TUT-TUT-TUT!**_

The mounted turret on top of his vehicle went off on the bandits in front of him. I heard his engine whine as his tires kicked up snow and ice. He reversed out of the crossfire, all the while his own guns gave as much as he got.

...

Did he know he was reversing RIGHT INTO ME?!

"SHIT!" I dived out the way as he slammed into the metal fence I was crouching behind.

Oooh... I swear! "You JACKASS! ARE YOU TRYIN' TO KILL ME?"

"GET ON THE GODDAMN TURRET, GAIGE!"

...

Right.

Sparks went off where rounds struck armor, but I didn't hesitate. I climbed into the second seat and gripped those handles like my life depended on it.

"You've got full control! LIGHT 'EM UP!" He floored it towards a nearby psycho. I had to duck to avoid splash damage... Yeah. Let's call it that.

 _ **RATA-TUT-TUT-TUT!**_

Damn, this thing was _LOUD!_

"On your right!" Gearhead yanked the steering wheel to his left. I had to dig my cybernetic arm into the vehicle itself just to stay on.

 _ **TUT-TUT-TUT!**_

"Hang on!"

"I AM!" Seriously!

The Runner made a beeline for the entrance. Running over, no pun intended, several Bloodshots that were stupid enough to get in the way. Meanwhile, I was raining fire like there was no tomorrow on these suckers.

 _ **SK-UUURRR!**_

Gearhead skidded to a halt just outside the entrance.

"The hell are you doing?!" I yelled.

"Keep firing!" He yelled back. What the hell was this plan?!

 _ **TINK! TINK! TINK!**_

Bullets ricocheted off of the car...

Whatever his plan was, it'd better work! Any moment now around was gonna find its way through my chest.

Heh. Nah. Not with these idiots.

They, being the Bloodshots careened at us like a moth drawn to a mounted heavy turret. One by one they were cut down in the goriest, bloodiest, most gruesome, most awesome way possible. It was like they were suicidal... And they probably were.

...

I know I shouldn't be talking all that trash considering I had to get my butt saved by Gearhead... though in all honesty, charging in there with just a sniper rifle wasn't exactly my brightest idea... Thank God he knew... Huh...

...

And I gave him all that crap too... Hmm...

I mean... he was acting like a douche, thinking with his dick and all but... I dunno... He goes to these great lengths just to bail me out of trouble.

"DONE!" He screamed. "WE'RE OUTTA HERE!"

 _ **SKUURRRR!**_

Just like that, me and him blew that popsicle stand, leaving a bunch of meat and red in our wake. I made sure to dig my robotic fingers back into the metal when he floored it.

My heart was racing from the adrenaline and my wound was burning. Strangely enough, that didn't really concern me...

I had other things in my mind...

"You alright?!" He shouted over the roar of the engine. "There's some blood on my visor..! You get hit!?"

"No...! That's not my blood...! Some psycho did stab me-"

And that was all she wrote because next thing I knew, he'd slammed the brakes.

Now he was in my face, holding my shoulder with one hand. "Where?!"

"Dude. Relax. I'm alright..." I was... surprised? I dunno. This was sudden.

"No, you're not _alright..._! You're bleeding from an open wound! Where is it?!" I kinda just froze. The amount of care he was showing, plus the worry in his voice.

"Gear-"

"Come here!" He leapt off the vehicle onto the snow. "Let me see it!"

I was a bit hesitant to listen... partly because of the way he was acting, partly because it actually hurt a lot more than I was letting on.

As soon as I got down there he was kneeling in front of me, inspecting my clothes.

"How bad does it hurt...?" And his voice was kinda... soft.

...

Shoot, why was my face getting warm...?!

"It's uh... it kinda hurts... Not that bad though..."

"You can drop the "tough girl" attitude now..." Hmph. "I'm actually worried for you here."

...

Huh...

"Well, what do you want me to say?"

He reached into a satchel and pulled out a rejuvenator. "Here... hold this." I wrapped my fingers around the red vial. "Let me at least cover you up. I don't want you to bleed all over the place."

... I was having trouble finding my words right now... Probably because I was bleeding out.

"Do I have permission to touch you?"

"Uh... yes?" I swear there was a dirty joke in there somewhere. His helmet blocked his expressions, so I couldn't honestly tell.

"Great..." Okay so... not to be weird or anything but... for a bandit he was very... gentle. His hands carefully lifted my hoodie above the wound. There was a big, dark red spot where all my blood was gushing out.

I use that term as an exaggeration, I wasn't dying.

"This is gonna hurt." He warned... I could see the roll of the bandage in his right hand.

I held my breath. Shit. My face was really hot now.

"Don't move." He lifted my wifebeater just above my wound. "God..."

"What? Is it that bad?"

"There's blood everywh-"

"Ah!" I hissed. That freaking hurt!

"I know, I know... I'm sorry...!" He pulled away. Wait, what? Was he done? Already?! "Now take the red. It should heal up nice in a few."

"Uh... Thanks." I blushed a little, don't know why.

"We can rest here for a bit if you need..." He said, standing up. Was he always that tall...? Or did he grow...?

"Um... It's fine. We can keep going."

"Alright. Here." He gave me his... hand.

"I'm not crippled." I joked. If I was being honest, I felt just a bit nervous even though I accepted his help.

"You can relax. Don't worry about shooting anything." Damn it, now he was reassuring me like I was his girl.

...

"I'm gonna try and see where we are."

"Don't bother. We're ways off." My ECHO device flashed once before bringing up a virtual HUD display. It was kind of like a video game map. It showed where Sanctuary was on the screen and where I was in correlation.

Looks like we had a while before we'd get there.

"Yeah? Your ECHO tell you that? Or was it your friend?" He started the car again.

Of course, he was referring to my "Guardian Angel" as I call it.

You see... let me simplify this as best as I could. There was an... A.I. watching over me ever since I got off that damn train. She's been keeping in contact with me through a private ECHO line for obvious reasons. Those reasons being, she wants to kill Jack and he kinda controls all of Pandora.

It was because of her, and yeah... the A.I. sounds like a girl, that I wanted to go to Sanctuary in the first place.

Well... that and there's a whole bunch of people that want to stop Jack as it turns out.

It's weird though... she only really talks to me when it's really important. Never when I'm getting some downtime...

...

I wonder if Gearhead has an "Angel" too. I catch him mumbling to himself from time to time...

"Gaige?"

"Huh?"

"Where are we going? Through this canyon?" He gestured ahead.

"Uh..." I took a quick peek at my map. It looked like we had to go through here. And it was more of a humongous cavern than a canyon. "Yeah... Looks about right."

"Looks about right..." He repeated while shifting gears. "Don't get us lost. I don't have anything to eat." He said with a grunt.

"Sucks for you." I was teasing him.

"Hey, I'll turn into a cannibal right here." He snickered. I knew he was joking so I just shot him a look. Kind of redundant because he was driving but still...

"We're going the right way." Heh. I think.

"Awesome. Cause I'm dying for a hot meal."

"What, you didn't prepare one for this trip?"

"Oh yeah. Because I knew I was going to kill Captain Flynt and travel across the entire sea to go to some town I never knew existed. I packed specifically for this occasion."

I chuckled. "Smartass."

"You make it easy."

"Implying that you're not a sarcastic ass?"

"What? Me? Nah." I rolled my eyes. "I'm just your Guardian Angel at this point."

"Hey! I saved your butt plenty of times! I knocked that tiny Bullymong off of you, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but I _killed Flynt._ " That bastard! I smacked him on his shoulder for good measure.

"That's not fair! You can light someone on fire with your eyes."

"Not my problem." He shrugged.

I paused... Speaking of "laser eyes", I kind of wanted to know more about the cyborg shindig, you know? But I wasn't really sure how to go about it. So then came the prolonged, awkward silence. I knew talking about it would cause him to get all moody and quiet. But curiosity was seriously killing the cat.

"So." I started. Maybe I should've _stopped._ "What's your story?" Gah...! _What's your story?_ That was way too blunt!

"Huh?" He glanced back for a second. Did he really not understand..? Maybe I should just say "nevermind" and forget about it...

...

BUT I MUST KNOW.

"Well... I don't know anything about you." Hey, when did my throat get so dry?

"That's not true. You know I have a sister..."

...

"You know I'm not entirely human..."

This was getting kinda tense. It was hot again even though we were going full throttle through a cave. I had to change topics real fast. Heaven forbid he steered us directly into a wall.

"What else do you wanna know...?" Well... damn. Bingo.

"Uh... Did you do those modifications yourself?" Whew.

"... No. You can thank my poor excuse of parents." Shit. Not a bingo.

"Uh..." Well, this was awkward.

"I can't remember everything, but I do remember not having what you all call a "childhood"."

Uh...? "Why?"

"Cause I spent most of my adolescence on a freaking operating table, getting parts of me... Parts of my entire being, surgically removed and replaced with _this..."_ He raised his right hand up...

I wasn't used to seeing his actual bare skin, only his face. His hands were... cybernetic.

...

Like mine... but entirely more sophisticated. One look was all she wrote... I was hooked. I wanted to know even more about him. I wanted to learn about all the gizmos that made him... him.

"Can we stop the car for a sec?"

"Heh heh, nope."

"Come on, please? Mods are kinda my shindig."

"Wait, seriously?"

"I mean.. Yeah. Have you not seen my arm? Or D.T.? Those were my inventio-"

"No." He cut it me off. Jerkbag. "I meant you actually want me to stop the car?"

"Well... not right here. But like, in a safer area." I gestured towards the bullymongs we passed by.

"And where exactly is considered "safe" on this planet? Please, point me in that direction." Funny. My Guardian Angel said something similar to this.

"Sanctuary." I wasn't exactly sure if that was true. I hoped it was, otherwise this whole trip would've been for nothing.

"Then you can look at it all you want there."

"You're joking..."

"No."

"So... you'd actually trust me with all that?"

"... Are you planning something...?"

"What?"

"Are you planning something?" Obviously, I heard him, I just understand why'd that came to mind just now.

Now it was my turn for some sarcasm. "Yes. My plan is to sabotage your limbs and torture your helpless self."

"That's... rather kinky of you. Didn't think you were the dominatrix type."

"Uhp!" Okay. I'll admit. I didn't expect that.

"That was a joke. In case you wanna get all butt hurt about that too."

"Butthurt? Me? Puh-leaze. If anyone gets butthurt around here, it's you."

"Hey. Wanna bone?"

"... Asshole." I rolled my eyes at him. God, I hated that smug look on his face. "Keep yucking it up, I'll smack the bitch outta ya."

"Oh, go right ahead. Kill us both, that'd be romantic." He snickered.

"Romantic, huh...?" He was making a lot of... I don't know how to put it. I guess "flirty"? Yeah. He felt a little flirty to me.

"It's a joke." He quickly said. I don't really think it was.

The romance thing, not the whole "kill is both" thing... I had a gut feeling as we entered that barren snowy wasteland. Something that I couldn't really ignore. Gearhead didn't let anything on, but... I had a feeling... The way he risked life and limb for me despite our first encounter. How worried he appeared when he was bandaging my wound...

Hell... I shot the dude! And his retaliation was simply to mess with my head and make me _think_ he had murdered my friends.

He had no reason to do show mercy or do what he did... Most of the time he could've just let me bite the dust and go on by himself. Yet... he didn't and doesn't...

...

This guy freaking likes me.

* * *

 **End of Chapter**


	13. A Severe Inconvenience

**Chapter 13: A Severe Inconvenience**

* * *

Man, did I ever say how much I hated Pandora? Because I do. I freaking loathe this place with every bone...

...

Alloy... In my body.

"FREAKING RAKKS!" Our friendly neighborhood Mechromancer bellowed at the top of her lungs as another Rakk dived low for us, almost cutting off my vision.

Remember when I had goggles? You see _this_ is why I wore goggles. Stupid Rakks seemed to be interested in my red eye.

Probably cause it's _RED_.

"DAMN IT!" I had to swerve to my left to avoid another flying abomination. Side note: do NOT swerve your vehicle on ice. Even bigger side note: do NOT swerve your vehicle on ice with only one arm.

Freaking Pandora, man.

 _ **RAT-TUT-TUT-TUT-TUT!**_

Yeah. This was pretty much our lives the past couple of minutes or so.

Remember when I said wanted some steamed Rakk meat?

Yeah, no. Now I just wanted them to eff off.

"We can't take the Rakks to Reiss like this!" Oh yeah... and as it turns out, we are now on a rescue mission. I forgot to mention that happened.

The Road to Sanctuary wasn't as dangerous as it was now. Nah. We got there in no time at all thanks to my driving and her divine intervention friend. But those lovely people in Sanctuary - the last stronghold of the resistance - was having a bandit problem (who would've thought?).

It was like... seven guys in total though. Sheesh.

Of course, as we stood there at the front gate, awaiting entrance to this last safe haven against this increasingly feral, cruel, and harsh world we were greeted by the leader of the Crimson Raiders, Roland.

Now here is where everything goes downhill.

Here I thought, "Oh, finally. We can go in and I can take a shower, we're gonna be safe and I'd probably live the rest of life as a citizen of Sanctuary. Hell, maybe a guard of Sanctuary, I'm feeling confident."

Nope.

Remember that guy from earlier? The one running away from those so-called "Bloodshots"? Yeah, his name is Reiss. Corporal Reiss. Of the Crimson Raiders.

See where I'm going with this? Roland asked, and by _ask_ I mean _told_ us to get him safely back to Sanctuary.

From the Bloodshots.

Where we just were minutes ago.

At this point, I'd start sounding like a whiner if I say it again and so... here we are.

 _" Goddamned Bloodshots, there's too many of 'em! If anyone can hear me, I NEED HELP!" _

**_CRACK!_**

Oooh. That did not sound good.

Looks like a bloodshot decided that Reiss' time had come.

If this was a normal world I would've probably felt some sort of grief. But Pandora was far from a normal world and we were far from normal people.

"Ugh!" I had to jam my fist into some Rakk's throat just to see in front of me.

 _ **SKURRR!**_

Which was actually a good idea because I cannot explain how close we were from colliding into a glacier. The front fender banged into the ice however and both Gaige and I lurched forward.

"Unf! Who taught you how to drive?!"

Remember when we were getting attacked by Rakks just a few seconds ago? I was just about to make that point when another gunshot ringed through the air.

"Reiss!" Huh... Hearing her scream that poor dead dude's name like that. I guess... I felt sorta jealous. Especially now after she made a beeline past the glacier, towards the back of it.

You would think she would've learned by now not to charge headfirst into a group of bandits, especially considering the first couple of times where it hadn't worked out the way she thought it would.

Here I go again to save the day...

Strangely enough... I didn't hear any signs of struggle... or guns for that matter when she went charging in...

 _That..._ worried me quite a bit.

I had to be careful, however. My left arm wasn't up to a hundred percent capacity after last fight.

...

I took some rounds to my left arm by the way. No one noticed. Well... except me that is. I noticed after I was unable to utilize it too well. The shocks didn't feel too great either...

Here's hoping this whole trip was worth it.

"FREAKIN'-!"

 ** _KA-CLAK!_**

" ** _Ffffu- the hell?!_** " I aimed right between that Blonde Girl's pretty eyes just as she did me.

"Wai-WAI-WAIT! HE'S ON OUR SIDE!" Gaige smacked that girl's gun away from my direction. It wasn't like she was gonna hurt me though.

I learned my lesson on not carrying strong shields.

"Are you kidding?! He's a goddamn _bandit!_ " Oh, look. Corporal Reiss' alive. There's a surprise.

"No no no. It's uh- heh heh. It's a long story." She sheepishly grinned. "But he's on our side...! I swear! Otherwise, I would've finished him a while ago."

...

Wow. So... I thought I was already mad.

Blonde eyed me up and down. I did the same, but not for the same reasons. She was decked out in some mess of wasteland attire and armor, kind of like me. And just like me, only her eyes were exposed. Even after gathering this, however, it was clear as day.

Blonde was curvy and she did not care it showed.

"Are you absolutely sure this waste of space is on your side, dude?" Waste of space. Today was just "Insult Ezekiel Day". "Cause he's looking at me like a piece of meat."

Hey, don't get me wrong, I leer about as much as the next guy (looking your way Corporal Reiss) but I was actually staring because why wouldn't you eye the girl that almost made a third hole in your head.

...

Heh. That was an inside joke. To myself. Nobody would get that.

"Well, I mean... you pr-"

"If I may interject," I believe it was time to get my point across. "I don't mean to stare, but people shooting at me a few seconds ago tend to cause such a _savage_ reaction. Forgive me, your _highness._ " I rolled my eyes, holstering my revolver while at it.

"Gearhead." I don't know why Gaige was sighing at me. She wasn't the one that was shot at.

...

I mean not now though. She didn't just get shot at right now.

"Heh heh. A comedian and a bandit? What _will_ we find out next?" Oh? Sarcasm?

"Pfft. More than you could eve-"

"If I _may_ interrupt, ladies... _bandit._ " Wow. Rude. "I do appreciate your rescue. I really do. But all of that will be for nothing if we don't get that power core back from the Bloodshots...!"

"What." I knew what a Power core was - thanks, wonderful and loving parents - and if I had an ounce of intelligence, I'd assume that Reiss here was bringing one back to Sanctuary. No doubt to protect them from the giant H that was...

That H was a lot closer now that I had ample time to sit back and relax.

A _whole_ lot closer.

"What do you mean _what_ , bandit? _Bloodshots_ have the _power core_. Sanctuary _needs_ that power core or _Jack is gonna kill us all!_ " Reiss was on his feet, clutching his Dahl pistol tightly... or not at all I don't know. I didn't care. I just wanted into Sanctuary.

"So gather up some of your men and raid these punks." I mean seriously. That was like Bandit fighting 101.

"Man, you bandits don't think, do ya?" Okay, this guy was annoying. "Don't you think we would've thought about that? We're stretched thin as it is."

"Damn it!" In the corner of my eye, I could see Gaige grit her teeth. I'll admit I felt a tinge of (maybe) jealousy. "Then we gotta go in there and take it back!" There being the Bloodshot Stronghold nearby.

I'm beginning to sense a theme here.

"Shooting Bloodshots? Wait for me." Oh look, blonde was tagging along with us. What a fun adventure this was going to be.

Honestly, how could this day get any worse?

...

Huh... Nothing? No more surprises?

Weird.

Here I thought something moderately inconvenient was going to make it's way into this situation. Though I guess the whole situation could be considered severely inconvenient at this point...

Though _severe_ and _inconvenience_ don't really go together in the same -

 ** _BA-CLANG!_**

" _ **GEARHEAD!**_ "

...

Man, blonde was lucky. Her rounds probably wouldn't have broken my shields. Unlike that Bloodshot, who had shot me... in my _eye._

My _red_ eye.

Oooh boy, and I thought I was _ **fucking mad before.**_

* * *

 **End of Chapter**


	14. Terra

**Chapter 14: Terra**

* * *

Goddamn bandits! I knew that wasn't going to be the last of them, I just knew it! But I'll be damned if this is where my story ends! Hell no! Terra's story isn't over till she says it's over!

" _ **YOU GOT MY EYE NOW, PUNKS! IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT?!**_ " Now, _this_ bandit, however... was different. I mean the whole plot twist about him being on the good guys' side was surprising enough.

But now here we have him going all _"Berserk Mode"_ on those Bloodshots. It was kinda hard to follow, to say the least. Especially considering I had just killed a guy that was dressed like him not two minutes ago.

"Hey, Gearhead! Be careful!" Apparently, his "name" was Gearhead... well according to that girl anyway. I'm just gonna assume that's what he was going by at least that wasn't his actual name. You'd be surprised with these bandits if I'm being totally honest here.

"HEY! TAKE COVER!" And then there was this guy. Reiss, he called himself. I was fortunate enough to happen upon his broadcasting while out on my own time. Needless to say, I couldn't just leave him there. Hell, he was even part of the Crimson Raiders...! If my gratuitous and chivalrous act won't get me into Sanctuary then I'm not entirely sure what else will.

"Damn it!" Redhead over there - that's probably a fitting name for her until I find out her actual name - took cover behind the main junk fence at the entrance of the camp. She looked distressed. Well, I mean _more_ distressed than one would be if they were being shot at by Bloodshots. "ON YOUR RIGHT, GEAR!" Oh, that explains it.

She was incredibly concerned about that guy. The... I wanna say "bandit that's not really a bandit"? They did both show up around the same time if I recall. Possible lovers? I wasn't too sure. She screamed at him as if she cared for him but... perhaps I'm being too presumptuous here.

The way this "Gearhead" moved amongst the chaos, however...

The dude was concerning.

How do I explain... It was as if he knew exactly what was happening at all times, sorta like he had a third eye or something. The way he blindly fired his revolver whilst eyeballing a different target. I'm almost positive he hadn't missed a target yet...!

And if that was the case, I must be careful here...

Better to sit back and observe him rather than openly provoke him.

"I want everything you got!" Oh great... Nomads. These shield-loving savages always were a pain in my ass...

"Watch your left, vault hunter!" The Crimson Raider seemed to think the same thing about Nomads as he immediately focused his fire on them. It was all for naught, however. Almost nothing could penetrate those metal, door-sized shields they almost _always_ carried with them.

So it was a good thing I had this rocket launcher or we all would've been in some deep shit.

" **WATCH OUT! WATCH OUT!** " Though one of the nomads clearly warned his comrades of my presence, it mattered not as the rocket-propelled grenade made its way towards the group of them.

"GODDAMN!" Both the redhead and Reiss exclaimed.

"Yes. Goddamn, indeed." I smirked. Perhaps I was showing off a bit but... it was well-deserved, wouldn't you say?

Am I coming off as confident? Perhaps even arrogant? Yes. Yes, I was. There's a reason for that, however.

"Come on out, BITCH!" **_CLANG!_**

A round had struck just in front of my eyes but I did not flinch. Bloodshots did not faze me...

Almost nothing did.

"To our right, dude!" Redhead must've been referring to me. I gazed nonchalantly - and I do mean _nonchalantly -_ to my right flank. Sure enough, a marauder had made his way towards me flicking out his knife in a menacing manner.

"Cute knife." I blinked. Nothing he did faze me.

"It'd look even better in your gu-"

 ** _SPLAT!_**

I will admit, I did shriek. It wasn't because I was scared of the marauder, dear god no. It was due that I hadn't anticipated his head exploding all over my face. Does anyone really expect such a thing to happen?

And of course, the culprit stood behind the now falling corpse of said Marauder.

"You're welcome." This Gearhead spoke in such a cold tone, though I didn't understand why... I wasn't the one that had hit his eye...

"Ah." I wanted to retort to his obvious sneer but I found myself at a loss for words...

...

Was I fazed?

No. I didn't fear him in a sense but something within me held me back from responding... In a way, my gut was forewarning me about this particular bandit.

Something was wrong with this dude...

"Holy hell..." Reiss breathed. Redhead's jaw seemed to drop as well to the aftermath laid before us. The entire Bloodshot camp decimated, to say the _least_. It looked as though each one of them had a well-sized bullet hole where their heads should be.

Some didn't even have their heads.

"Here." Gearhead sulked by all of us, tossing Reiss what I believed to be the power core he was trying to hold onto. "Can we go now?"

"Uh..." Reiss glanced at both me and Redhead. His helmet blocked his expression but... I could take a guess at the face he was making.

The dude was disturbed.

"Yeah uh... we head back to Sanctuary. Yeah, my technic- Aw, goddamn it! My Technical! The Bloodshots wrecked it when they chased me here."

"We've got an Outrunner sitting a few ways down," Redhead said. I wiped the brain matter of my face. Kinda gross. "But it's uh... two seats..."

"Well, I trust you to take the power core back, Vault Hunter..." Huh... His voice trailed off as he turned to look at Gearhead. I was honestly thinking the same thing...

"I don't trust that dude." Luckily, he wasn't within earshot when that was said.

"Listen, guys... He's not what you think. Give him a chance." Redhead tried to smile.

"Eh. I dunno, Vault Hunter. Your friend, here, has got a bad look to him." Reiss began to walk but paused to finish his sentence. "Don't get me wrong. I am grateful that he came to help but..." I watched both the Crimson Raider and Vault Hunter lock eyes. "There's something definitely wrong with him... on the inside..." Hey, I said that too. "You oughta be careful."

"You have no idea..." I don't know if Reiss heard her as he walked away. She kinda mumbled it. "And you?"

"Huh?"

"You got something more to say about him?"

"Uh." Her tone. Serious? Hostile? Shoot. I wasn't that great at reading faces. "Walk with me uh... girl."

"Gaige."

"What?"

"The name's Gaige."

"Oh. Uh. Terra. Nice to meet you."

"Thanks. I know it wasn't the best of impressions... but..."

"Heh. Don't worry about it, dude. I always greet new people by shooting at them."

"Heh heh. Man... That's not even the worst "hello" he's ever gotten either."

"Oh yeah? Shoot. I believe it."

"Yessiree. That award probably goes to yours truly." Little light-hearted conversations to diffuse the tension.

"Jeez. What'd you do, actually shoot him?"

"Yeeeaahhhh..." She answered. Sheepishly, I might add. "And he fell out of a tower because of it."

"Oh!" Well... I will admit. I was kidding about that. "Nice."

"Yeah, then he got me back for it... Punk ass."

I couldn't help but narrow my eyes... The way she said "punk ass". There was some anger in that... I think. Annoyance, at least? "Got you back?"

Gaige sighed. "Long story."

"That long, huh?" Meh. Curiosity killed the kitty. "Is he...?" There wasn't really a way to properly ask that though.

"Huh?" Okay, so maybe they weren't in some sort of weird abusive relationship like I had first thought. "No...! No. Nothing like that. I met him like a week ago and... like you guys said... dude's got some demons." The way she paused in between sentences like that... Concern? Worry? Why am I so bad at this?

"Don't we all?" Was that a good response? Shoot... I think it was.

"What about you? How long do you and Reiss go?"

I actually almost tripped. "Wha-? Oh, I just showed up, dude...!" That was true.

"Wait, really?"

"Oh, yeah...! I was... sorta just in the neighborhood when I heard his broadcast. Thought I'd come help." That was partially true. I've been trying to get into Sanctuary for quite some time now. This... would help.

"We're trying to get into Sanctuary. Roland wanted us to save Reiss before he let us into Sanctuary though. Here's hoping we can finally get in." I didn't know she had a cybernetic arm. I'd just noticed as she crossed her fingers. Then again, I hadn't been paying much attention to her either.

"Nice arm."

"Thanks...! I did it myself. It's probably my second greatest invention yet."

"What's the first?" I smirked.

But she seemed to frown at the question. "My robot..."

Wait... "You... you made _him_?" I nodded towards Gearhead. I mean... he was a robot as far as I could tell... A round ricocheted off his eye like it was nothing.

"Oh nonono... God no. Please." She rolled her eyes. "He's _actually_ human. More or less anyway..." She could say that again.

"Human. Right."

"Nah. I made this pretty amazing bot waaaayyy back before him. I call him, " **Deathtrap** "." She seemed incredibly proud at the mere mentioning of him, yet I hadn't seen any other robots...

"Wait. Then where is it?" I probably shouldn't have asked that based on her reactions. God, I suck.

"Well... I've got a problem here." She said, raising her right, cybernetic arm. "The relay system in my arm seems to be damaged. Or the data in it must be corrupted because I can't seem to get my bad boy out."

"Aw, that sucks dude. Your robot would've helped us quite a bit back there." Oh god, I am absolutely horrible at keeping the mood light..! The way she grimaced...!

"Nah, it's fine. We had Gearhead... hmm..." I was having a hard time trying to establish the relationship between her and this bandit. During that shootout, she showed genuine care for him but right now...

Right now she kinda looked like she hated his guts.

...

I noticed the way she stared him down as she spoke about her robot too... I wonder if Gearhead had anything to do with her damaged arm... Perhaps when she had shot him, his retaliation had been to destroy her arm...

Oh god. That was horrible to think about.

Just what kind of friendship did they have?!

"Here's hoping they've got someone who knows something about digistructing in Sanctuary. It was a pain in my ass to make all this..."

"I've heard of a dude... Scooter, I think it was?"

"Heyyy, I know that name...! He's the guy responsible for all the Catch-a-Ride stations around...!" She seemed to beam at this thought. "Hell, if he can make cars digistruct out of thin air then maybe he can help me!" She then turned towards me. "Thanks, Terra! You're a pretty nice girl!"

Oh! Well... I mean... I had no idea what she was going on about half the time - I'm not what you call "tech savvy" - but I was glad to have helped.

"Hey, no problem, dude." Up ahead, the boys had taken position by the Outrunner they had parked...

I'm not sure why they were just standing there though.

"Guys, what's wrong?" Gaige stood next to Gearhead... There it was again... That same look, she was worried... _and_ annoyed at him... Was I reading that right?

"Besides the fact that your Runner only has two seats? We've got another problem..." Reiss looked very aggravated. Maybe he was arguing with Gearhead the whole time?

"Well, what's the problem?"

"Roland's been kidnapped."

* * *

 **End of Chapter**

 **Author's Note: I am not dead.**

 **Also Reiss lived.**


	15. Sanctuary

**Chapter 15: Sanctuary**

* * *

You know... Of all the infinitely possible parallel universes that may or may not exist... Why did this one have the most _inconvenient_?

" _Roland?! Is that you?!_ " It had taken some creative and initiative thinking to get all four of us back to Sanctuary. Although I wish Gaige and I had returned without _some_ of these people.

Some being the other two...

"Davis? It's Reiss! I've got the power core!"

" _Shit, Reiss?! You're alive! Are those the Vault Hunters?!_ "

I assumed he was referring to Gaige when he said Vault Hunters...

I think Terra over here was a Vault Hunter as well. I don't know... But did she honestly think I couldn't hear her talk behind my back? Goes to show how smart she was.

...

And maybe I did feel really guilty about how I treated Gaige... even if she _did_ blow my freaking kneecap off.

And took my gun.

 _After_ blasting me out of my own tow-

"Ezekiel." Man, my sister had a knack for spoiling my mood.

"Oh! Come on! You can't say I deserved _that_!"

"No, but you're better than this." She stamped her foot in the snow. "You were raised better than that...!"

I laughed, though it was more out of aggravation than actual humor. " _Was_ I?" I stared into her eyes now. A standoff between siblings. "Was I _really_?"

I wasn't entirely sure why I was more irritable than usual. Maybe it was my blood-soaked clothes, the two new walking inconveniences we had just met, or the fact that I had just been shot in my freaking eye.

"I just killed like... fifteen bandits...! In what world was I raised properly?!"

"Gearhead..." That was... new. She never called me that...

Never...

" _Gearhead._ " It was like the air was sucked right out of my lungs. The way my name was... _spat_ into the air like that. No care. No love... Like I was a...

A _bandit._

Well, maybe that was what I really was to everyone... just another bandit.

"Hey! Gearhead." I felt my entire body get yanked backward. Gaige's cold, metal arm gripped through my scarf and wraps. "Hey! Look at me!" And then the opposite... Though it was brick all around us... her hand on my face was warm...

Until she held my chin and jerked my head in her direction.

...

Her eyes.

...

Whoa.

"Are you _alright_?" I was physically unable to utter a response, sarcastic or not. I... know what came over me. I didn't want to admit it however.

I just... stared.

"Hello? Earth to Gearhead?"

"I'm- I... fine." You know, I impress myself sometimes. What manages to slip through my incredible mind at times...

"I fine? I'm sorry. I'll let you finish the argument you were having. You know... with yourself."

I.. just realized that I might've screwed up here. It wasn't just her and I this time...

...

Except that it _was_ just her and I...! When the hell did that happen?! "When did..." No, seriously... did I miss a scene or something?

"Well..." She began, raising her finger to her lips with such an inquisitive gaze. "You started yapping about how you didn't deserve something. I recognized you were having a - we'll call it an episode - so I sorta, maybe, perhaps convinced..."

"Convinced."

"Yeaaah." She sucked her teeth. "We'll go with that. Anyway... using my elite persuasion skills, I basically told them two that you were just tired and had to get some much-needed rest."

What kind of convincing speech was that? Elite persuasion, my butt.

"And they seemed to buy that cause they walked on ahead." Oh.

"Ah."

"It was the least I could do anyway. You _did_ slaughter like... fifteen bandits by yourself."

...

Something flashed in the corner of my eyes. Specifically, my right eye. It was brief; if I hadn't been paying attention I doubt I would've caught it at all. Nothing a quick diagnostics scan wouldn't solve.

...

That... wasn't good.

"Seriously. What's wrong?" I blinked as Gaige focused into my view. Keyword: _focused._ My right eye had been damaged more than I originally believed. "You've been spacing out a lot lately."

"My... eye." I grunted. It was hard to focus when half of your vision was effing all the way up.

"Here. Lemme take a look at it. I am the greatest engineer alive after all." I couldn't really say no to such an offer. If she made that horrible monstrosity of a robot by herself than what's the worse...

I've got to stop asking that question. Murphy's Law is a very prominent thing on this planet. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt."

"You _suppose_? Hmph. Then I _suppose_ I won't fix up your arms once we get to a better spot." ... why was she so cute when she was annoyed?

"Alright, alright... I don't mind it."

"You don't mind...?"

"It. What do you want me to say?"

"Oh please, Mechromancer! Bestow your blessed touch upon me!" She grinned, imitating (though poorly) a very dramatic voice.

I blinked again. "You're such a..."

"A what?" She had her hands on her hips. "What were you gonna say? Nerd? Dork?"

"Cute." You may think that I was being bold here.

Yeah. Yeah, I was. But... I was also serious. She was cute... and I actually liked her... Despite all that had happened between her and me, we still looked out for each other...

In the beginning, I'd thought after we killed Flynt that she would've bolted. She didn't. Which meant I didn't either. Then after the whole "I'm labeled as a sleaze because she thought I wanted to screw her but I actually wanted the bed to myself" incident I'd expected her to be on her way after we got to Three Horns...

She didn't.

Which meant I didn't either.

"What... did you say?"

"Cute. You've never been called cute before?"

"I mean..." Her cheeks flushed, just as I predicted. "Back on Eden-5, I was kind of a nerd."

My vision began to blur again. Freaking Bloodshots, man. "You mean you're not one now?"

"Hah hah, dick. All the boys in my school avoided me because of it."

"Their loss..." I shrugged.

"I did have a crush on Ham- wait, what?"

"What." I grinned, which felt weird. It wasn't something I did very often these days. "Hammerlock?" It was either that or ham.

...

That didn't make much sense now that I thought about it.

"Yeah... Hammerlock... Uh, "their loss"?"

"Yeah. Their loss."

I could tell, even with my right eye as damaged as it was, she was getting impatient... and annoyed. "What do you mean "their loss"?"

"It's a common expression, mainly used-"

"Oh my god, I knooow... what it's used for. Have you ever entertained a woman before?"

Looking down at myself - you know, my bloodstained self - I answered, "Oh, I go on dates all the time. In fact, there was this one girl I dated, reddish-hair, eyes like emeralds..." You could see the exact second she realized I was referring to her. "It was going rather well, she then proceeded to shoot me out of a tower."

"Oh, come on! You're seriously going to hold that against me forever?"

Forever, huh. I wonder how long she planned for this partnership to last... "No." I sighed. "I was just-"

"Joking. I know. Don't be such a sourpuss. You're not cute when you brood."

...

I was not so irritable anymore.

"Also, "eyes like emeralds"?" Oh, here we go.

"Just take the compliment." I could see that guy we had saved, Reiss, up on some command post. He was next to some generat- oh... That's where the power core goes.

"Maybe I like compliments." She teased. I think.

"I thought you'd be the type."

"'Scuse?"

"To receive compliments."

"Like I said, too nerdy."

"So? What's wrong with that?" Even though my vision was messed up, I caught her smiling at the corners of my eyes.

"Are we gonna take a look at that ruby or what?"

I rolled said ruby and other eye. "Smooth."

"Wha-? You can call mine "emeralds" but I can't call yours a ruby? Double standard."

I let out a snicker. That was a rarity. Usually, I'm my own friend. "You need some lessons on being suave, kid."

"Oh, don't start that "kid" complex again..! We're literally the same age."

"I find that highly improbable that we would be the exact same age."

"Oh yeah? You said you were eighteen. Were you lying?" She asked, all too confident of my answer.

"Hell if I know." I yawned. "You tend to forget about time on this planet. I could be eighteen. I could be nineteen."

Again... her response wasn't immediate... as if I was offending her with my answers. I surely hoped I wasn't because it definitely isn't on purpose. I honestly didn't know my own age... and being on Pandora was only part of the reason. I thought I was eighteen. At least, if I was calculating this right, I should be around there, give or take a year.

"Well, when's your birthday?"

Oh jeez. Why doesn't she just interrogate me about my whole life while she's at it? "Again. Hell if I know."

"You don't know... your own birthday?"

"Nope." I said matter-of-factly. "All I know is what's in front of me."

She raised her brow to that obvious bague answer. "And what is front of you?"

"A Hyperion Moonshot Blitz."

* * *

 _"Blitz! Look alive, everybody! Hyperion moonshot blitz!"_ The guard at the command post shouted over the ECHO.

That reminds me... It's been a while since I ECHOcasted. I should probably do that sometime later.

"Gaige." Back to Gearhead, who by the way, had his arm in front of me like he was my bodyguard or something. Probably because of the giant H in the sky raining mortars on Sanctuary.

It's a good thing we got that power core when we did.

 _" Talk to Private Jessup at the gate. He'll let you into the city." _

"What about my friends?"

 _" They can come in too. They did help us after all." _Stupid question, but I had to make sure. The way Reiss eyeballed Gearhead the entire trip back was concerning, to say the least.

I mean yeah, he was a bandit. But the focus shouldn't be on that he was a bandit but on the fact that he _was -_ emphasis on WAS - a bandit. Meaning that he is no longer one. It was self-explanatory.

"It's a good thing I got the power core." He could use a little cleaning up though. And a few classes in Hero 101...

Hah. I amuse myself.

 _Eyes like emeralds..._ Although... I'll admit - never ever aloud - he wasn't too rusty in the compliment department.

Nice one, Gearhead. I'll give you that one.

"Oh good! The Vault Hunters! Here, lemme get the gate for you."

"Uh-" Gearhead began but I shut him up with a quick smack to his arm. "I'm not a Vault Hunter." Goddamn it...

Private Jessup blinked at him. Goddamn it, Gearhead.

"But she's the Vault Hunter you guys are so crazy about."

"And what are you supposed to be, her bodyguard or something?" Hey, that's exactly what I thought earlier.

"That's exactly what I am."

"I mean you kinda look like a-"

"It was a recent occupation." Gearhead quickly added.

The guard shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me. Whatever the Vault Hunter wants." I could've sworn Gearhead muttered something in response. Three guesses as to what. "Commander Roland never came back from his secret reconnaissance mission. He left very specific orders for this contingency which you guys can help carry out. You should go meet with the town mechanic."

 _"Crap...! I mean, uh, darn. Roland needs your help - without you, the Crimson Raiders don't stand a chance against Jack. Please find out where Roland's gone."_ Oh, there's Angel. I was wondering when I'd hear her again. Guess we had to rescue this Roland guy now.

I had to push Gearhead along because for _some_ reason he felt like arguing with everything.

"I'm just saying... We just got here like five minutes ago and I can't even sit down and rest. I can't get a bite to eat. I can't even _shower_." There was a lot of disappointment in that last one. I don't know what was the big deal, he didn't smell too bad.

...

Not that I walked around sniffing him! I meant if he smelled, I would've obviously been repulsed by it annnnd I'm making it worse, aren't I?

"Oh, don't be such Princess." I shot him a mocking smile. At the same time, he went to wipe something off his should-

OH MY GOD IS THAT A-

"Eugh!" He _frantically_ wiped away what CLEARLY was...

A dick.

"The hell!" He kicked it away. He kicked the dick away. "When were you going to tell me that was on me?!"

I actually had to kneel, this was too much... Gearhead actually had a-

"Oh yeah. Just go ahead and laugh. That's completely fine." I was laughing. Pretty hard too... but oh god I had to breathe...

 _ **Snort.**_

Oooh... kill me.

"Did you just... snort?"

"No."

"I clearly just-"

"Noyoudidn't."

"But-"

"Shutup." So... obviously... I felt a _certain_ way... and by "certain way" I mean "never mention it again". I kinda hate it. It's embarrassing. It's not attractive at all. Another reason why all the boys back on Eden-5 ignored me.

 _"Sanctuary. Built on the ruins of the Dahl corporation's finest interplanetary mining ship, now the last refuge for thieves, murderers, and outcasts. Welcome home."_ Oh wow, thanks for that, Angel. Now I'll definitely find the right guy...

...

But... enough about boys, we had to go meet the town mechanic.

Hey! Maybe he'll let me use some spare parts so I could finally fix my arm!

"Oh. Here we go. I'm never gonna get that shower and food, aren't I?" Gearhead groaned as we opened the door towards the Mechanic's shop.

"Oh boohoo, whatever will you do~?"

"This little piggy went to the mechanic~"

I never turned so red in my life... I'm gonna MURDER him!

"Oh, _crap_ , is you Hyperion?" A man who I assumed was the mechanic leaned forward in his chair. "I heard all of you are robots and you eat metal out of the garbage and stuff. Knew you wired death machines would be coming for me once Roland went missing... Now, if you're here to kill me, you should probably know... You'll never take me alive, you robotic sumbitch!" Why did this man jump on the table? What is going on?

"I don't think... he's all there..." Gearhead leaned closer to whisper. "If you know what I mean..."

I hit him in his chest with my left arm... gently. Whatever. He could take it. "Don't change the subject. I'm going to kill you." All he did was snicker. Gah, the dick.

"Wait a minute...! Well, hang me upside down from a telephone pole, cover me in honey, and leave me to a slow death at the hands of hungry spider ants - you ain't no Hyperion robot, you're a Vault Hunter! That's like a unicorn!" A unicorn. Heh. Your damn right I was.

"Am I invisible?" I could hear the pain in my ass grumble beside me.

"You're going to be when I freaking kill you." A snicker. He thinks I'm joking...

I mean I wasn't actually going to kill him. That much was obvious. But still... I'm gonna kill him. Or at least punch him... right in the face.

"You can call me Scooter! Ya here to help us out with this Roland situation?" Wait a minute... _He_ was the one responsible for all the Catch-a-Ride stations all over Three Horns?

...

Huh...

"I heard them Crimson Raider dudes talkin' about it. Roland told me if he ever disappeared, I was supposed to initiate Plan B - or, as I like to call it, Plan Turn-this-city-into-a-floatin'-ass-fortress-of-airborne-awesomeness. B. I got some fuel cells around here. You'll need those - oh and you'll need this Eridium here, too."

"Then head to the center a' town and plug those two fuel cells into the ignition primers. You gon' need a third, which is why I gave you that there rid-rock. You can buy the last cell from Earl's black market. Careful though, Earl's crazy - he ate one of my cars once. Yeahhhh. The whole car. Just... like, with a fork."

What? 'Kay so... that was a lot to take in. So... I guess Sanctuary can float? I mean... _theoretically,_ it's possible... If they managed to construct-

"Get that eridium away from me." The pain in my ass grunted. I was tempted to shove it in his face for interrupting my train of thought again and for generally being an ass.

"Oh, no problem, princess. And make a crack about my laugh. Watch where I shove this bar."

"What? I find it rather cute." There he goes again being all flirtatious. "It's like a little kid's laugh."

"You're. My. Age. Don't act like you're some old, all-knowing, wanderer of the wasteland."

"That was... very specific for no reason whatsoever." His mask hid his expression, but I could tell he was grinning like an asshole.

"Shut up." I didn't have to explain that to him. I had to get two power cells first.

Then I could kill him.

* * *

 **End of Chapter**

 **Author's Note: I realize now... the massive hiatus that I underwent. Once again, I don't really have a good excuse for it but I do sincerely apologize for keeping the lot of you waiting. Hopefully, a few of you stuck around (if you did, thank you so much)because the rust gears in my brain have started cranking. Updates should continue normally. See you next chapter.**


	16. The Indignity of the Shameless

**Chapter 16: The Indignity of the Shameless**

* * *

Huh... well now... this is rather interesting. Although to be frank I didn't know what I was actually expecting.

Still...

 ** _pitterpatterpitterpatter_**

I don't even know what to make of that rat. At least I think that was a rat that just ran across the floor...

Bed seems nice enough though. That was good considering the many, wonderful types of beds that I had the pleasure of lying on lately. Actual beds were hard to come by apparently.

There were no curtains, however, which would normally be a huge problem for me but seeing how I was on the second floor I wasn't going to complain too much... yet. Nah, I guess I was grateful. I mean Sanctuary was way better than where I used to live at. In a sense, you could say it lives up to its name.

But there's always a catch, you know? Good things never come for free.

I'm almost positive this town hates bandits. I would just be assuming but the glares I received while walking through the streets said otherwise. I don't know if Gaige noticed or not, she was probably still having a fit about me making fun of her snorting.

Not entirely sure why she would be mad about it. I found it cute... Plus I initially thought making fun of each other was kind of our "thing" now, you know? I've noticed lately, however, she's been more irritable. Then again, that's probably just how she is. I mean I just met the girl, I had no idea what I was walking myself into.

"You say that like you have plans with her." Perfect.

"Maybe I do. Maybe I don't."

"You most certainly do."

"You don't know that." Man. The incredulous stare Anais just gave me right there.

"Except I _do._ And you do plan on doing something about her... Hmm... but what are you going for, Zeke?"

"Listen..."

"You're not a creep. You're devilishly handsome when you don't look like a bandit."

"Anais-"

"You've definitely got humor down."

"You're flat-out ignor-"

"Although you could use a few improvements in charisma..."

"Are you done?" I asked, patiently I will add. That should also net me bonus points while we're on the subject because let's be honest...

Who could be patient on this planet?

"And don't answer that." I pointed towards her as her mouth began to open. "Just because you're in there doesn't mean you have to probe every thought process that I have."

"I mean..."

"Back to the conversation we were having before we were rudely interrupted."

" _You_ rudely interrupted yours-"

"I don't actually have a plan here," I admit. "So I'm sorta, kind of, just... winging it."

"Winging what?" I have **got** to get that under control.

...

And Gaige needed to learn how rude it was to just show up unannounced like that.

"Oh. You were talking to yourself again, huh?" Whoa, whoa, whoa. Where was all this attitude coming from? I didn't even say anything to her this time.

...

Maybe I should stop doing that.

"So... if all you're going to do is stare all day long, I was just dropping by to let you know that Reiss, the guy we saved-"

"I know we saved him."

"Rude. And Reiss is gathering a group to save Roland from the Firehawk."

"Oh." The way she so casually addresses the fact that this Roland, again, the leader of this damned resistance, has been captured by what I'm going to assume by their name is a bandit that can control fire...

And hawks? I don't know.

Now, where have I been in this position before?

"Okay," I responded. There wasn't really much else I could do. Let me rephrase. I didn't really _want_ to do anything else.

"So you're not coming?" Mhm. And there it was and here we go.

"I was going?"

By the way, she folded her arms, I could safely assume that I might have glossed over that part.

"I mean he _is_ the Leader of Sanctuary." Oh, I could see where she was going with this and I am not having any of it. "The heroic thing to do would be to get him back."

"Hah. No, thanks. Let his boys get him back. There's plenty of them around here for that."

"You're really gonna make me do this?" Why was she smirking? "You're _really_ gonna make me this to you...?"

"Cut the act."

"Fine." She ignored everything I just said too. She seemed to get twice as dramatic as before. "I guess I have no choice but to use my final move..."

What is actually happening right now?

Why was she holding an ECHO in her hand? What was that possibly going to do?

"In my hand, I hold not just my ECHO but _THE_ ECHO of Gaige aka. The Mechromancer!"

"Right."

"Who has a MASSIVE following!"

"Twenty-K last I remembered. Not bad."

"Thirty-K, you jerk."

"Oh." I don't remember her making a fifth ECHOcast to be honest. Then again, she probably-

...

Wait a minute. She never made a fifth ECHOcast.

"And we're about to be live in three... two...! One!" You know, maybe it was because I had my marauder mask on, or it was because I honestly didn't care but the moment she pointed her ECHO device, I could see a counter on the screen. And I felt a chill run down my spine knowing that tens of thousands of people were ready to watch this girl's every move at a moment's notice.

"Hello, my..." I was just going to let her do her thing while I stood there, but with the way she mouthed "Wow" as her eyes gazed at the counter as well. I don't know. The way her face lit up, to see something pure... in such a... crap world.

"And after a rather _heated_ greeting and I do mean it when I say _HEATED_. I met..." I could see her eyes flicker towards me.

Oh, here we go.

"A friend!" On cue, she turned her device towards me. Though my face was undoubtedly concealed, you could clearly see my shiny, crimson, red eye in the mirror cam. "Ooooh scary and mysterious~! Ooooh~!" Was she mocking me in front of...

Holy crap! One hundred thousand views!

One hundred thousand people. She was mocking me in front of one hundred thousand people and I did not have a single retort.

"Yeah. He's, like, my personal bodyguard and stuff." Personal bodyguard, huh... "Pretty cool. Doesn't say anything though." Well, now she was flat-out lying. "Just dark and mysterious..." And I'm pretty sure those were some play on words as well.

I caught a glimpse of the many comments that were flashing through the screen. Half of them had to do with unmasking my mask.

"So yeah! That's my bodyguard! Love him! Love you, Gearhead!" And now she was acting weird. "Yeah, no. He's not a complete weirdo. Just slightly weird."

I wonder when she'll be done.

"Have I seen what's under the mask? Oh hell yeah, I've seen what's under the mask." What the hell was that supposed to mean? "Is he ugly?" Is that seriously what they were concerned about? "Nah... He's uh... He's a looker."

I turned to her on that note.

"Great. You guys got him staring at me now."

"You done...?" I muttered. I think I was trying to play along and stay true to the character she outlined for me.

...

I'm joking. I was in pain so my voice was kind of hoarse. Also definitely catching a cold.

"Nah. He's not gonna take the mask off. He never takes the mask off." I most certainly do. Does she have any idea how hot it gets underneath here? I can't afford to look intimidating all the time at the expense of my own comfort. That's just outright insanity.

"Oookay. Let's keep it civil, guys." Well, now she has my curiosity. I wonder what her thousands of lovely fans are saying now.

...

Oh.

...

Oh! It's THAT kind of ECHOcast now, is it?

"Alright, _you're_ outta here." She said to a ... "D35TR0Y3R_0F_W0R1D5" with a particularly execrable comment that... well... let's just say it involved masks and intercourse... we'll go with that.

I caught a glimpse of a couple of comments. I'm pretty sure she missed it as they were going by so fast but they all held the same context... which was calling me something that rhymes with witch and was not at all pleasant in any way possible.

Immediately I was disinterested in what the rest had to say. Totally not because I cared what they had to say.

"Okay so... now we're in this lovely haven of Sanctuary. The last stronghold of the rebellion and such against Jack and all of his malicious tyranny."

She really knows how to put on a show, I'll give her that.

"It's a really neat place," Y'okay. "Really gritty. Not exactly the place you'd want to be at night. Except the people are really nice."

Yeah. Okay.

"They already set me and Gearhead here with a place to rest and relax for - wait for it - free!"

Oh. Were we sharing this room? There's the unexpected news for today.

"It's not much now, but that's what being an underdog is all about! We use what we got to kick the asses of the corrupted and-"

Probably another scumbag running his mouth. Gah! I need to digistruct something fast...! Not having a twenty-twenty vision is really messing me-

"So I guess Jack... himself is calling me right now..." Actually, _that_ right there is the unexpected news of the day. "Huh... this is... interesting."

I could tell she was trying to act calm. She was probably about to blow her top off.

"I don't know if I should answer it or not..." Plus the way she fidgeted with the device in her hands. Yeah... totally nervous too. "What do you guys think...?" Wait... Did I not have a say in this?

"Aw geez! You're still alive?" And there it is. And I already hate him. "Man, those bots cannot do _anything_ right. That's okay, though. You made me realize how much they're lacking in the killing department so thank you for that."

Wait, what bots?

...

Y'know, I complain a lot. That's kind of my whole thing... but... seeing Gaige like this, frozen... as if she was scared. But that's impossible, Gaige couldn't possibly be afraid of this guy.

"Also neat little ECHOcast. Where are you, at some shitty rundown motel?"

How the-

"Well, wherever. Doesn't matter. Meanwhile, I'm up here, figuring out a way to annihilate all of you bandits and free Pandora yadda yadda yadda. We've been through this spiel already."

It really bothered me seeing her so quiet like this, especially in the face of this... tool of all tools. I didn't know what I was going to do but I DID know I was going to make an appearance.

"Are- Is there a connection issue going on here? I feel like I'm just talking to myself here." That's actually a good idea. I wonder if I could subtlely make my way into that software and just cut him off. Who knows as I **boldly** stepped into view, which seemed to spring the life back into our Mechromancer here.

"Nah. I just generally don't know what to say to assholes, really." She shrugged. Her composure, the real one, was coming back now. Which was good.

"Nice. And just who do we have here?" Uhp. And here we go, for real this time. "I don't remember seeing _you_ on the train."

I chose to say absolutely nothing. I wasn't here to entertain this guy. I was here to-

Wait, why did I do this?

"To protect her by hacking into her ECHO, Zeke, pay attention." Right. I also wasn't about to answer my dearest sister while thousands of people had their eyes on me. I just had to focus and...

"Oh good. Another one of those silent types. Awesome. It's an absolute pleasure to hold conversations with you silent types. You know, like regular civil human beings-"

"You talk too much..." I grunted.

 **Blip!**

Oh, thank god it worked...! Cause if it didn't, I would've looked liked an idiot.

 ** _CONNECTION_** ** _ LOST!_**

"Oh. We lost connection... would you look at that...?"

I've never heard such apathy in her tone before. It actually made me smirk.

"I have no idea why that jackass would call me directly." I glanced at her with the only visible eye- I wish I could just take my mask off now but she still had her ECHO on.

"Yeah, see? I wasn't lying, chat. The dude's a total asshole. Can't believe he actually called. Ugh." She put her palms over her eyes, most likely to massage the frustration out of them. While she did that, I snuck another peek at the chat she was talking about. Most of them were agreeing with what she was saying, which was good, as it meant that maybe they all had some sensibility.

It was the other fraction of them, spamming comments about... me. I don't know how some of them knew I had something to do with the connection. Maybe they were just guessing but...

"Man, it's like... so frustrating knowing that- hmm?" I feel like in situations like these... I don't actually have an ounce of luck. "Oh, Gearhead? Yeah. He totally hacked the satellites and stuff. Completely cut that asshole off."

...

I guess we're just nonchalantly telling everyone I'm a robot.

"But yeah, that's been my life for the past month or so, and you know me, guys... I do _love_ the anarchy~"

Why'd she say it like th-

"ANARCHY FOREVER!" Man, that scared me a little. "So I'll update when I can but right now, me an' Gearhead over here are gonna save the Leader of this Resistance, You know, usual hero stuff, whatevs. No biggie. Anyway, Daddy, if you're watching, I love you! See ya guys later. Gaige, out!"

Another blip signaled that she was no longer ECHOcasting. Which was great because-

"Fwah...!" I needed to breathe.

"SO..." She began. I didn't even bother looking at her. I already knew what she was going to say. "That took an unexpected turn." Okay, maybe I didn't actually know what she was going to say.

"Did it? I honestly thought that was the whole plan."

"Ha ha. You're so funny."

"What was the whole point of all that anyway?"

"Well," There she goes, fidgeting with fingers and such...

...

Focus.

"I figured I could kill two birds with one stone by ECHOcasting with you in the room."

"I get the whole spiel about you keeping up on your casting but what's the other bird so to speak?"

Again with the fidgeting. "I kinda... maybe... wanted... you to come along with me to rescue Roland."

"Oh. No."

"C'mon, Gearhead! I don't trust anyone else to watch my ass like you do!"

"I..." That was actually a fair point. I doubt any of those Resistance soldiers could do what I do. They all certainly looked pretty normal and-

"No. Zeke, she means she trusts you."

"Oh." Well, that also makes sense. "I really don't want to go to another bandit camp to rescue Roland. I'm pretty messed up as it is." I made sure to gesture towards my obvious damaged eye.

Did I mention I was trying to focus my vision the entire time she was ECHOcasting?

"I'll fix you!" She apparently blurted out.

"Oh?" I was genuinely surprised.

"Yeah, and this won't be just to tinker with you. I'm being so serious. I will fix you up a hundred percent!"

"Wait. You were just going to mess around with me?"

"Wha- No- I mean no. I wasn't-" She was even cuter when she was a stuttering mess.

But I guess I had to stop fooling around because Anais was giving me the "look". "Fine, fine. I'll go with you. On one condition." Wow, the looks I got from both Gaige and Anais.

"What...?" Sheesh. I just wanted my damn eye fixed.

"Can you take a look at my eye right now?" You get misunderstood once. ONCE. And you're forever remembered as... never mind.

"No. That's not-" My sister began but I cut her off.

"Wait, right now?" Why was she so hesitant? I thought she was the greatest engineer alive?

"Am I interrupting something?" I asked.

"Well, no... it's just..." Right so, she was hiding something undoubtedly. I hope to whoever above that she wasn't lying about her skills as an engineer.

...

I actually wouldn't be surprised if that was the whole "plot twist" right there. Knowing my luck.

"You're human."

...

What does that even mean?!

"What?"

"I could mess up... on Deathtrap and it'd be nothing but just a screw-up. It wouldn't matter because he's a bot, he wouldn't feel it. But you..." Why was my throat dry? "If I mess up... I d-dunno... You're human. What if I screw up so bad that something ends up not working inside you?"

...

"Like, yeah, it's just your eye but... what if I mess up and you go blind?" It was kind of dim in the room, so I couldn't really see her expressions. "I don't think I'd be able to handle that..."

I glanced at her mechanical arm as she fidgeted with her fingers again.

"I mean I can't even figure out what's wrong with my own arm that I _built myself._ I don't..." Her voice trailed off. I recognized that the overall mood had shifted greatly. "I don't think I'm ready is... where I'm getting at."

So, to clarify, she's lost confidence in herself.

...

Awesome. Cause we need some of _that_ during these hard times.

"Listen..." I'll be honest... I had no idea what I was going to say. "That's totally fine."

"Is it?" The hell if I know. But I'm pretty sure the correct answer here would be "Yes".

"Yep. In fact, why don't I take a look at your arm? Maybe you're just having an off-day, you know?" I was being serious here. That happens to me occasionally.

"I guess..." Wait...

...

Wait... Why can I look at her but she won't take a look at- Doesn't it go both ways?

"You see the deal with my arm is," Oh. She just removed her entire arm right off. Clean. "It's attached to me but... not really." You know what it's like to have someone just hand you their entire arm? "So I can't really feel anything that happens to it... well... that's a lie. I CAN feel a little bit... "

"I get it." It was like my arms. I couldn't feel anything there but... I could feel that they were there in a sense. "So, how do I open this?"

"Oh. Right here." Not gonna lie... Seeing her with only one arm was alarming... "There's a little hatch that I designed. See?" Wow, she was also incredibly close to me. I could faintly smell that freaking shampoo that she used.

...

I just remembered how long it's been since I've had my shower.

"I designed this baby to be as simple as possible. Just in case I had to make a quick fix in combat."

"That's pretty smart." I'm gonna be honest here. I have no idea what I was doing nor what I was looking at. Gaige's arm was SO advanced. I might even go as far as to say it was more complicated than mine.

...

Wait, there's her problem.

...

Wait. There's no way it could be that simple... There's no way her entire problem was her rod being busted...

"Um..."

"Can't figure it out? That's alright, dude. I built this and-"

"Your rod thingy is busted." I flat-out stated. I was ninety percent sure that was her problem.

"No, I already checked that." Ninety-five percent.

"Um... check again?" A hundred percent sure now as I showed her. You could barely catch it cause it was under some wires but you could-

"ARE YOU FREAKING SERIOUS!?" Oh.

...

" _THAT_ WAS MY PROBLEM THE WHOLE TIME?!"

"I mean..." It happens occasionally, you know? Sometimes you just need a fresh view on it after looking at it or so long. "Yeah..."

"I checked that a hundred times! How- HOW did I miss that?" Gaige was going to town on her arm now, which was impressive considering she had one arm.

"How did it even get damaged? It's inside your arm."

"Well..." I feel like the way she turned her head ever so slightly meant that I was about to blamed. "I've been meaning to look for a more sturdier model..." Oh. I wasn't getting blamed. "But as you can see," she said, gesturing to... well, everything. "I haven't had the luxury to shop for some parts."

"Ah."

"The alternative option was to make one from scratch but where the hell am I gonna get a tiny spawning rod from?"

"Wait, that's the only part you need?"

"Yeah. But do you happen to have a spawning rod just lying around somewhere?"

"I mean..." Funny story. "I have to digistruct things somehow."

"Stop messing with me."

"I'm really not though." And to prove it to her, I unlocked the protective shell on my left arm. My wiring was visually similar to hers, though it was accompanied by lights. However, unlike her arm, I couldn't detach anything.

"Whoa... you're high maintenance, aren't you?" I'll take that as a compliment... I think.

"Not really. That's why I have the spawning rods in me. If something gets damaged, scan something similar in terms of material and boom, instantly repaired."

"That's... pretty impressive..." I think that was genuine awe? It was difficult reading her expressions right now... probably because of my EYE. "But don't you need the rod? Otherwise, you can't repair yourself."

Please... as if I was built that simple. "I have more than one in me, Gaige."

"Oh!"

So after several more shocking truths (like one) being uncovered as Gaige fixed her arm, she finally attached it back on.

"Man oh man...!" She could barely contain her excitement. I, however, already missed my spawning rod that now resided in her arm. "COME ON OUT!"

Who was she talk-

JEEZ! FU-!

 ** _CRASH!_**

"Are you okay?!" That **freaking bot** man!

"Yeah. Heart attack aside. I'm peachy." What was that-

...

She just giggled.

"Relax. D.T. is harmless."

"Okay. Okay but..." I stood up, making sure to stand a distance away from her Death bot... which was STARING at me by the way. "You say he's harmless but I've seen firsthand what he could do and I assure you, he is anything but."

"He's harmless as long as you're friendly." She laughed.

"Yeah, I can _see_ that! I can see that now!" Even though I was showing actual fear, Gaige seemed to be having the time of her life... Jerk.

"Alright...! Bring it in..." She smiled.

"What?"

"C'mere!" She said, spreading her arms out and walking towards my being.

"What is this? What are you doing?" I asked as she wrapped her arms around my chest and back. "Stop that." She knew I was kidding. I could tell by the way she squeezed me harder as I protested. "I do not recognize these emotions. Cease your antics at once...!"

"You're a dork~" Whoa, okay so, alright... Let me find my words. "A real class-A dork, you know that?"

Yeah, no. My heart was pounding against my chest. If she went back to hugging me, she might've felt it against her face. Instead, she opted to stare up at me with those great, big emeralds of hers.

...

Holy crap, I think I might be in love...

"So... are you... coming...?"

"With you to rescue this Roland guy...?" I said though it was more of a whisper. I had some serious trouble speaking right about now. "I guess."

"You guess, huh? You need a little more convincing, bodyguard?"

"Depends..." I suppose one more mission wouldn't hurt.

"What's your price? Want me to fix you up a new eye? Want me to build you an awesome death bot of your own?"

"Well... the hugs were nice." I chuckled.

...

I should not have said that. Almost immediately did her cheeks flush. And here we go again with the fidgeting of fingers. "O-oh! Uh...!" And the stammering.

...

What the hell did I just do?

* * *

 **End of Chapter**


	17. A Fickle Thing

**Chapter 17: A Fickle Thing...**

* * *

You know... I can build a death bot straight from scratch. I can saw my own arm off and create a fully functional and badass cybernetic arm capable of smashing through _solid concrete._ I could wander the wastelands with said upgrades and completely obliterate dozens and dozens of bandits without even breaking so much as a sweat.

But man oh man do I _not_ know how to handle crushes at all...

"Right. So, when are we all leaving?" I don't know if he could see me blush... I hope to God he didn't...

"Uh... we got plenty of time... why...?"

"I kinda want to wash the scent of blood and death off of me." He said while heading towards the bathroom. I could tell he was trying to break the ice... Every time he was out of his comfort zone he looked away from me.

...

It was kinda adorable... that someone like him couldn't look me in the eyes.

Speaking of eyes, I was a little worried about his crimson one. That round he took looked like it did some real damage to him.

...

I didn't really want to admit it either but my heart jumped into my throat when he got hit... I mean sure he was extremely tough, maybe even nigh invincible. I had no doubts that he could probably take one of those moonshot blitzes and live. It's just... I don't know. I had a feeling he was more hurt than he let on; like he was just trying to play the tough guy card.

I wanted to examine him - being a mechanic and all - I just didn't want to mess up and somehow eff him up more than he already was. Cause if I'm being honest here, I was kinda scared.

Alright. I was _super_ scared. Uh... Mortified. That's a better word for it. He was also human, as far as I could tell anyway.

I'm only a mechanic. Not a surgeon.

"Wait, seriously?! This place doesn't have hot water?!" See? What kind of robot would complain about hot water? Wait a minute...

...

He left the bathroom door cracked open...

...

I'm not curious.

...

I am not curious.

...

I'm not going to be a peeping Tom on this guy.

...

Crap. What was I doing?!

...

"Oh. Wow. They _do_ have hot water! Silver linings." Oh God, heart, please. Stop beating so wildly!

WhatamIdoing? WhatamIdoing? WhatamIdoing? WhatamIdoing?!

"Just to let you know, there's no soap... Oh. Wait. Never mind. I'm blind."

Uh...

...

Oh.. Wow. I mean-! I-!

...

Alright! That's enough for now, Gaige!

 ** _Wrrrrr..._**

OHMYGOD! I forgot Deathtrap was back! Jeez! My heart!

 _ **Creak!**_

OH MY GOD! HE'S DONE!

"Whoo! Now _THAT_ I could get used to again!" Calm down...! Calm down! Calmdown! Just sit on the bed and act normal!

...

I'm cool...! I'm calm...! I'm certainly not thinking about what I just saw...! Which - and I know for a fact it was - clearly was his-

"Dick."

"W-what?" Oh my god, did he see me?!

"I'm sorry. I don't curse a lot but I just remembered everything that Reiss guy said to me."

"O-oh!" OH THANK GOD!

"'Man, you bandits don't think, do ya?'" I uh... Yeah, I knew what he was referring to. "Sometimes..." He said while shaking his head. "People like him make me wanna..."

"Make you wanna...?" I mean I could understand where he was coming from... Back on Eden-5, every second I spent in the same room with Marcie made me want to jump out the nearest window.

"Never mind..." I took his sigh as a sign that he'd rather just move on from the subject. "Your turn."

Wait. "My turn? My turn for what?"

"Aren't you gonna shower?" He nodded towards the bathroom.

...

Was he subtlety hinting that I needed one?! I mean, don't get me wrong, I love showers but it's not really a luxury on this planet, you know? Never mind. Was he trying to say I stunk?!

"Cause if you are, you should know there aren't any shower curtains put up." Er- heh... Man, I already knew that. "So be careful when you're done cause water gets everywhere."

"Ah." What was I supposed to say?

"It gets really wet over there."

...

There's a sex joke in there somewhere... "Right," I swear. "Look after D.T."

* * *

Okay, so he wasn't kidding about the wet floor. I nearly cracked my head open (what was this floor made out of anyway? Ice?!) just trying to get into the bath. By the way, I preferred baths to showers but I had the feeling I wasn't going to have enough time for such a thing, with saving Roland and such.

...

Man, I hate my mind sometimes. It never seems to do what I want it to do. Like right now I should be focusing on cleansing myself from the filth as quickly as possible, NOT the fact that I left my... porn magazine back at Liar's Berg.

...

Or someone's... genitalia for that matter.

 ** _Knock knock_**

I swear... it's like he knows...

"Hey uh... I guess they brought up some shampoo and stuff. Um. You want me to just... Y'know what? I'll just leave it by the door."

"Thanks..." I said.

"What?" Or rather, I mumbled.

"Thanks." There we go, Gaige. Project that voice.

"Oh! Uh. Yeah. No problem." Wow, this was awkward, and that was beside the fact that I was totally naked as well.

...

I hate my mind sometimes... And a CURSE on my hormones!

...

Crap...

* * *

"We're friends now." He said with a smirk. I'm kinda of surprised D.T. was letting Gearhead lean on him like that.

...

I hated my mind... and I hated that freaking smirk he had on his face. Always with the _smirking_! It didn't matter what it was! He could be running from bullets or running his mouth, it didn't matter...

"Um... You alright...?" Damn it. Now he wasn't smirking.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Well... it's just that you look like you just took the angriest shower ever..."

...

Do not laugh. Don't even make a sound.

"Ookay uh... I'll just... be over here."

...

Damn it!

"It's-!" Man, I freaking hate my brain sometimes! "It's not you..!"

Oh, great. Now he was looking at me like I'm crazy.

"I just-! I mean my-!"

"My...?"

"My head...!"

"Well, what's wrong with your head?"

"I... can't tell you that," I said, truthfully might add. There was no freaking way I was telling him that he was probably, most likely the reason why I took so long in the bath. I had to "take care of business".

...

I don't need to go into details with that, do I?

"Oh... why?"

"Because..." Oh my GOD...! Why must he be so difficult? "I don't want to...!"

"Oh." And here comes the part where he makes me feel like an ass about it, right? Right? "Alright then. Well... I guess when you're comfortable... You'll talk about it."

...

"So uh... should we head on out?"

Now I really do kinda feel like an ass. Damn it! Why did I snap at him? He was just trying to help out and... God...! Damn it.

"Um..."

"Yeah! Yeah. Let's get going."

* * *

"Hey."

"Hmm?!" I've got to start paying attention. We were about to infiltrate some crazy, bandit place. I did NOT need to be distracted right now.

"Are... you sure you're gonna be alright?"

"Yeah. Mhm. Peachy." I was not peachy. I was incredibly irritatable. At myself too...

...

Yeah. I wasn't mad at him. I wasn't mad at him at all. I'm mad at the fact that I've got so much on my mind that I can't seem to function like a regular human being. What with me and my perverse thoughts. It wasn't even the fact that I've seen his... junk. It was just the thought of him in general.

I have no freaking idea how to handle crushes. Hell, this is literally the first guy to even have a crush on _me_. ME of all people!

"Right so... I'm going to visit this Marcus guy... See if he can get me a better revolver."

Wait... doesn't that cost money...?

"You have money?"

I swear I speak before I think too much because the look he gave me. Well, you couldn't see it because he had his mask on but I could probably guess.

"Seriously?" He shrugged his arms and walked away.

I may or may not have totally forgotten that he was a bandit.

...

Should I have gone with him? I don't think I should've... I think the correct course of action would be to... head straight to the bar and become an alcoholic.

"Heh..." Sometimes I amuse myself. Could I even get a drink if I wanted to? Hell, was there even a legal drinking age on this planet?

...

An even better question, what exactly _wasn't_ illegal on this godforsaken planet? I mean come on, I could buy a gun from a vending machine. A vending machine! Hello?! Who's bright idea was it to make such a concept a reality?

You know I shouldn't even ask... cause I probably wouldn't have lasted as long as I did without a gun. Well... nah, a genius like me? Please. I totally had this. And I totally deserve a drink after what I've been through. Not that I ever had a drink before but I knew that-

 ** _BANG!_**

" ** _AHHHH!_** "

So are we all just gonna ignore that blood-curdling scream that came from- OH SHIT! GEARHEAD! Damn it! I knew I should've gone with him! Every time -! Every time I take my eyes off of him-!

That sign was in view now: Marcus Munitions. I could only imagine the shit that he got himself into now...! Stay calm, Gaige... Stay calm...! Whatever happened, you could sort it out! Maybe! Probably!

Shields? One-hundred percent!

Ammo? Fully stocked!

"WaitwaitWAIT!" Freaking stairs! Why is the gun-

...

Gun store...

"Um..." Okay, so... this particular scene in front of me is difficult to process; what with the pool of blood and the random guy clutching his bloody leg. Meanwhile! Meanwhile, Gearhead, who I thought was the one that got shot and not this poor sucker on the floor, had frozen in what appeared to be mid-transaction. You see... though that sounded completely normal, it actually- I really just...

I just needed to know, "What the hell is going on here?!"

"And who are you? One of Roland's new recruits?" The... cashier who I can only assume is the owner of this fine establishment - the heavy sarcasm intended - eyed me like I was the reason for this mess.

Did I mention he was holding a gun in his hand? I feel like that was an important thing to note.

 ** _Clack!_**

Oh my god...! Now Gearhead had slammed the gun onto the counter...!

...

Wait, he's not doing what I think he's doing, right? There's no way he's that crazy and/or stupid.

"Hey, I don't care about that guy. But do not point that at _her_ if you know what's good for you."

I uh...

"And if you knew what's good for **_you_**... _**boy**_ , you'd realize who you are dealing with." Oh my god... He had a gun pointed at Gearhead's face now. And there was NOTHING the bars between them could do to stop this man from blowing a hole in his head.

"Wait, hold on!" I had to stop this now! Gearhead didn't kno-

"Whoa. Pull that trigger, dude."

"NO! Don't do that! Sorry! We were leaving!" I said, snatching ahold of his arm and yanking him away from the counter.

"Nah, dude. Pull that trigger. Watch what-"

"SHUT UP!"

MAN! WHAT IS WITH THIS GUY?! Why was he so complicated at times like this!?

"Hmph... Wimp." He mutters as we enter the daylight, CLEARLY ignoring the fact that my heart was about to burst through my chest just because he was playing that tough guy bullshit! "Man, if he wasn't such a wimp and actually pulled that trigger? Ooh boy, he thinks those iron bars are gonna keep him safe?" If anyone was gonna kill Gearhead right now, it would be me.

I was waiting for him to stop his gloating to actually notice the fact that I'd been staring- no, glaring at him for the last minute.

"What?"

"Do you have a death wish?!"

"Not... particularly." I was gonna punch him in his chest.

"Why'd you do any of that?! What the hell was going through your mind?!"

"Wait, you're not actually mad at me, are you?"

"Yes! Well- no... don't turn this around! Why'd you do that?!"

"Did you not see the guy laying in his own blood next to you?"

Oh, I totally forgot about that guy... I should probably-

"Cause that prick shot that guy for wanting a refund. A _refund._ You think I was gonna let him take any chances with you?"

"I-" Damn it, I really HATE my mind right now. I couldn't seem to come up with a response to that... Why?! The way he was just staring at me, without his goggles his eyes were like ten times more intense.

"If he shot you, I'd... well... let's not go there."

...

"Anyhow, I'm sorry that I upset you. I honestly didn't mean to. I was more focused on-"

"That guy, yeah..." Okay, so... if my mind could just focus on one thing at a time. I'm sure that I... could possibly, maybe, sorta come to the conclusion; based on the way I felt like my heart fluttered...

Yes... fluttered is the right word although it's so corny that I might just mentally kick myself.

But... I think... I think I have... a thing for this... guy.

"Gaige." And that's another thing. Why do I blush just because he said my freakin' name? Come on, Gaige! Get it together! You're supposed to be the greatest engineer alive...! A woman of science and ass-kickery! And here you are swooning off some bad boy just because he looks and sounds- "Gaige. Cannon Fodder is here."

...

'Who?" I could tell that he was referring to someone he hated just by that scowl he had on.

"Vault Hunter, there you are! Are you all set to go? We leave in fifteen." I... totally forgot that we had to head towards Frostburn Canyon... which was where Roland had been taken by this murderous, bounty hunter that went by the name: the Firehawk. Now that I thought about it, I probably should've told Gearhead this as well...

Oops. "I uh... yeah. Yeah. I'm good to go. We're good to go."

"Oh yeah? You're going too?" Annnd that's Reiss antagonizing Gearhead.

"You're annoying." Annnd that's Gearhead retorting.

"Alright, so this... Firehawk. What do we need to know about him?"

"Wait, who?" Annnd good job me. Way to keep your head on the mission.

"The Firehawk, bandit."

"Again, who?" I pulled Gearhead aside immediately. No need to have a repeat of that incident five minutes ago.

"Sorry, my bad," I said to Reiss before turning to face Gearhead. "So uh... don't be mad at me."

"Let me guess... you forgot to inform me that this Firehawk guy is some all-powerful, all-knowing pseudo demon that we have to take down less Sanctuary crumble from his wrath."

"I mean... he also kidnapped Roland."

"Cool..." He sighed.

...

Do not stare at his broad shoulders... Or his chest... Or his eyes... or in general. Stop staring, Gaige, stop it.

"Anything else you wanna tell me before we inevitably die?"

Why... did he have to say it like that? There was no way he knew, right? Right?

"You're supposed to laugh." Oh... he was joking... uh... Force a laugh, Gaige.

"Hah-hah." That was absolutely horrible.

"Wow. I'm becoming less funny... Hmm." He said, folding his arms. I kinda wanted to tell him that it wasn't the case... I was just... You get the idea. "Give me like two near-death experiences. I'll be back to normal."

This time I did laugh. Naturally, I'll add.

"Oh." Huh? Did I do something wrong? Cause he looked away.

...

Was he blushing?

"When you two are done, come regroup at the main gate." Corporal Reiss grunted. I wonder why he was in such a bad mood all the time.

"Someone needs to get laid..." That... could be a reason... I wasn't speaking from personal experience! I was just saying...! "Can't blame him though. I'd be angry too if I was annoying and no one wanted to sleep with me." Wow. He really didn't like Reiss.

Wait... was that confidence that I heard in his tone? "Oh? And what about you?"

"Me? Nah. I don't expect anyone to sleep with me. I've got the face of a Skag." He shrugged before walking off.

...

That was not the answer I was expecting. Uh... should I disagree? I feel like that's the right answer but... that would definitely give me away. He didn't honestly believe that, did he? I mean, a while ago we were calling each other cute and stuff but...

...

We were flirting and stuff but that was just to... distract him from his "moments". Sorta. As far as I could tell, he liked me... and... I liked... him.

I like him...

...

Phew. That was a big weight off my shoulders actually; admitting that and all... Now would I admit that to him?

Hell no. Nope. Negative. You will never catch me admitting that to him. I will literally die of embarrassment.

"I just want to say. Reiss thinks he's all that now, but we did just save him from a couple of bandits. A _couple._ I'm going to need him to keep that same attitude when we inevitably save him again."

To be honest, I wasn't even paying attention to a word he was saying. I was too busy staring again. I know, it's sad... Sue me. But I was actually excited... This wasn't like... This wasn't like back on my home planet where some guy way out of my league caught my eye. Nah, those assholes wouldn't even look my way. Hell, some of them did give me a look, a look of disgust... That was always great.

No, Gearhead... Gearhead was... nicer. Even when I snorted, ohmygod I wanted to die. I could do it on my ECHOcasts, yeah whatever but like, actually in person? Please. Kill me.

But he didn't say "ew" or "ugh". He called it cute... I mean granted, he called it a "kid's laugh" and I was still gonna kill him for it but... it felt nice that someone wasn't totally revolted by me... And that he actually liked me?

It felt nice... It felt really nice... It made me wonder... what exactly went through his mind about me?

* * *

 **End of Chapter**


	18. It's All About Perspective

**Chapter 18: It's All About Perspective...**

* * *

I swear Roland better make me an honorary citizen or some crap after this. I better get a statue built it my name with those nice benches with plaques that read: Ezekiel, the savior of Sanctuary. Everywhere I go, people better applaud and cheer my name as I walk past them.

Because if Reiss implies that I'm some dumb bandit one. More. Damn. Time. I'm going to crash this freaking tank.

Oh? What's that? Where did they get a tank? Well, long story- actually, just kidding, it's not. They apparently had a tank this whole time. Which lead me to the next question. Why did they still have a bandit problem if they owned a freaking TANK?

And I'm the dumb one?

Okay, so maybe Reiss isn't calling me dumb, but he's still referring to me as "bandit" like I'm not about to fight alongside him to help his sorry rump get his equally sorry leader from the clutches of this planet's equivalent of God.

He may not be calling me dumb, but he is definitely insinuating that I am incapable of thought, which is rather insulting considering the fact that I... well... maybe Gaige and I really didn't save him. That freaking trigger happy girl, Terra, did. However, we or rather _I_ got back the power core with a little help from Gaige.

"You are so cranky." I wasn't even going to give my sister the satisfaction of a retort. Oh yeah, you can definitely say I was inconvenienced. "You do realize that redundancy of all of that right?"

Nope. I'm not talking to her.

"This has the same effect of a four year old holding his hands over his ears and humming loudly."

I wonder just how crazy this Firehawk guy really was. Based on what everyone is saying - and by everyone, I meant just Cannon Fodder and Gaige- this Firehawk guy is some infamous bounty hunter that's killed in the masses.

And now he's holding the great and definitely-not-sorry leader of these Crimson jerks, Roland.

Whether he was acting in his own interests or he was influenced in some way was a concern of mine. Let's just call it intuition for now but... that waste of human space, Jack, might've had something to do with it. I had a feeling... right in my gut. If I recall correctly, he had been hunting for Gaige... which was more of my primary concern.

Ah, crap. This might've been a trap. Using Roland to lure Gaige in. Wait... but that doesn't make sense. How would he know if Gaige was going to be all for rescuing Roland in the first place? That would've been a serious assumption to make... I mean what if she just simply chose not to? Then what? Congratulations, you accomplished nothing.

...

Or maybe he knew that she was the heroic type and WOULD be all for rescuing Roland because it is, in fact, a trap.

Wait, then why would he pay the Firehawk to do it? Why not just do it himself? Why rely on someone who has the potential to completely act on his own volition? There are too many variables that he was relying on to make this work. Something was wrong.

"Or maybe you're thinking too much about it."

...

Perhaps...

"Regardless, it'd be in your best interest to protect your princess, wouldn't it?"

...

Though, I knew she was trying to tease. I... didn't really take it as a joke... Not Gaige's life anyway.

...

I've come to terms with that now at the very least. I liked his girl... even though she might not like me like that. That was fine, I guess. Doesn't mean I wasn't going to defend her. We were friends, were we not?

...

"But you kinda want to be more, don't you?"

...

"Oh, fine. I'll leave you be. You know exactly where to find me if you feel like talking."

...

She wasn't wrong.

"Hey." Speak of the devil.

"Yeah?" I found myself intentionally trying to avoid eye contact with Gaige more often than before. I couldn't help it, really.

"You okay there, buddy?" Buddy, huh? There was something awkward about the way that rolled off her tongue. It almost seemed forced.

I decided this time to suppress my emotions. "Yeah. Why?"

"You're... lying." Well... shoot. I never said I was _good_ at concealing them. It was obvious she saw right through my mask, figuratively speaking that is.

"What makes you say that?"

"Cause you're... not looking me in my emeralds." Damn, she was really putting on the pressure here. AND she used my compliment? I had no choice but to use my ultimate mental defense.

"Oh? Is that the permanent name for them now? Emeralds? Because I'm not exactly happy being called "Ruby" if we are." That earned a giggle from her... a rather cu- you know what? Never mind. She laughed.

"I mean... eventually I'd like to call you something other than Gearhead."

...

Oooh, boy. Did it get warmer in here?

"Annnd you never really told me your actual name."

I had to glance to see if the other two were listening in... Okay.

"And what makes you think Gearhead isn't my real name?" I was curious. I don't recall hinting I had an actual name besides "Gearhead".

Now she was just giving me the stare. You know the one. "I mean... you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. It's okay."

Man, it's not that I didn't... well... I mean, yeah, kind of... She'd probably laugh. No, no. It's only fair, right? I know her name. Shouldn't she know mine?

"Alright..." I sighed for the inevitable embarrassment I was about to face. "But on one condition." Why did her eyes widen every time? "Just... don't... use it." I gathered the idea baffled her, but she agreed nonetheless. "My actual name is..."

 _ **SKRRRT!**_

"Alright! We're here! Load up and be ready to move out! C'mon, Raiders, let's do this." You know what? I might actually thank Cannon Fodder later.

"Wait...!" Gaige had a gentle grip on my arm as the rest of the group departed from the tank. "Your name...?" I'll admit I froze, partly because of the alluring look in her eyes and the other reason being I really, really, really didn't want to tell her my actual name...

 _ **Whzz-CRACK! Ck-RAK!**_

"BANDITS, OPEN FIRE!"

And just like that, the air surrounding us exploded. And I don't know how but, I ended up shielding this girl as rounds ricochetted off the tank annnd... I think one struck my shields... I heard the noise. I should be fine though.

"You alright?!" Her right shoulder pressed into my stomach as she hunched up against me.

"Yeah! You?!"

My revolver banged against the tank as I scurried out of the Tank. Cannon Fodder Reiss was out ahead engaging what looked to be more Bloodshots...

"What the hell are the Bloodshots doing here?!" Well, that was a redundant question... Obviously, they were here to kill us. Now the better question would be: How in the world did they know we would be here?

"They're here for the Firehawk!" Gaige shouted behind me, taking cover next to the Lancer Tank. I don't understand why she was getting so bent for. It wasn't like Bloodshots carried shields.

 _ **Bwom!**_

See? Their "custom" made weapons weren't strong enough to break through conventional shields. That was actually a major problem my ex-bandit camp had. I'm pretty sure that was one of the main reasons why Gaige obliterated us in the first place. We just lacked the firepower to destroy her barriers.

Well... they did at least.

 _ **KA-BLAM!**_

This Jakobs Sniper Rifle was nothing like those trash rifles that the Bloodshots carried. Seriously, I could probably kill a building... I mean obviously, if building was a living being that is.

 ** _Click! KA-BLAM! Click! KA-BLAM!_**

"ON YOUR LEFT!" Rounds struck my shield from, you guessed it, my left. I swiftly turned to return fire on the poor sap that-

...

"Sorry! Sorry!"

"Dude." She did! I know it was her because the psycho falling before me had a saw blade. Also, where the hell did she get that submachine gun? I was about to ask her but her surprised expression meant that there was probably someone behind me.

Or... not. Or rather there were two psychos stomping out Reiss.

...

Didn't I call it? Here I go saving the day yet agai-

 _ **WRRRRRRR!**_

" ** _Domo arigato, suckas!_** "

It was... difficult to express what I was feeling right now... Watching her bot glide over to the nearest bandit and literally - not figuratively - _shred_ the two psychos beating on Reiss sparked my fight or flight response. I felt very uncomfortable right here, so I couldn't imagine how Reiss felt being covered in bandit... again, literally.

He looked a little-disorientated, truth be told. I wouldn't even blame him. That damned bot of hers tended to inflict as much emotional trauma as it did physical; if you were even lucky enough to survive the physical aspect.

"You alright?!" Of course, he was alright. They didn't even cut him. All they did was knock the crap out of him.

...

I am not jealous. Shut up.

"Yeah, thanks for saving my ass...!" Again. "Goddamn bandits just made this mission a whole lot more complicated...!" Did it? Did it really? Because behind him, Deathtrap was just ripping right through them. I sincerely doubted even an army would stop that Reaper of a machine.

Hmm... There was something... Man, I want to say "intriguing" about the way Deathtrap moved from bandit to bandit. It kinda reminded me of someone. Maybe I'm just thinking too much about it. I tend to do that quite a bit nowadays.

"Alright. new plan! You four stay here and wait for reinforcements! We're gonna need them if the Bloodshots are here in full force!" He pointed to the squad that came out of the other tank. So if they got guard duty then that means... "Vault Hunter! Sergeant! Bandit! On me!"

Hooray... The ever-loving embrace of death. Oh, how I long for it.

"Vault Hunter!"

"Yeah?!" No, really. Were we not going to pay attention to the fact that Deathtrap had just fried a man alive? I mean I can do that, too. More stylishly, I'll add.

"What exactly can that bot of yours do?!"

"What'd ya have in mind~?" She grinned...

...

I am not jealous. It was obvious that she was just incredibly proud that everyone here was witnessing her greatest creation at work. There was no way she was... flirting with Cannon Fodder... right?

Right...?

"Roland's gotta be right in the Firehawk's lair underground...! We have no idea what's waiting for us down there...!" I mean... we do know ONE thing that waiting for us down there; the Firehawk himself, but hell, I'll play along.

"Don't worry about! Deathtrap can do ANYTHING!"

"Then, by all means, let it rescue Roland," I smirked. No one laughed. Alright. I'll just uh... stay behind them, I guess.

"I hope so... I'll be honest with ya. I don't know anything about this Firehawk guy, I ain't about to leave Roland in his hands either."

You know what? I think I'll just go on ahead and take my frustration out on some psychotic murderers. There's no need for me to stick around for this. Moving on ahead it was evident that the Bloodshots were no match for Deathtrap. I counted no less than two dozen bodies scattered across the canyon floor. At least, I think I'm counting right... I don't know, honestly. Too many parts everywhere.

"So... what's your story?" I forgot there that another Crimson Raider was coming with us. I hoped he wasn't talking to me. "Not much for talking, huh?" Sweet.

"What do you care?" Did I come off as irritable? I felt like I did. Good. Because I kinda am. And by "kinda", I really meant very.

"Whoa, there, pal. Last time I checked, we're on the same side. No need to take your anger out on me just because you're having an inner conflict."

...

How the fu-

"I mean the way I see it. If you don't want your girl getting all googly eyed over another guy, do something about it."

"She's not _my_ girl."

"Well," he said while lighting a cigarette. "Don't you think you should change that?"

...

Why the hell is this guy giving me advice?

"Yo!" I felt Gaige's hand on my shoulder and turned to face her. "You okay?" Behind her followed Cannon Fodder and... another Crimson Raider.

"Wait, I thought we were splitting into teams of four?" I asked. Now the teams were split unevenly.

"We... we are?" Now she was looking at me like I'm an idiot or something.

"Then," I nodded towards the guy behind me. "Why do we have five?"

She blinked. "What...?" Well, alright. I guess today is just "mess with Ezekiel day" because everyone seems to be making fun of...

...

Where... did... that guy go...?

"Hey, you didn't answer me... Are you okay?" Now she stood in front of me, her eyes were locked onto mine... except I was still searching for...

...

Am I going crazy?

"Gearhead." Snaps. She snapped her fingers in my face. "Stay with me here..."

"What's the problem he-" Reiss... started... but Gaige waved him off...

"It's fine. I got it."

"Are you sure? Is he alright?"

"Yeah, yeah. This is... normal. Go on ahead for a sec." She never took her eyes off of me. Even when Reiss and... the other Raider passed by...

...

Am I going crazy?! Who the hell was I just talking to?!

"Another... episode...?" The way she tilted her head at me; she was trying to read me or something. I was struggling to form a word, though... I wasn't entirely sure what had happened.

"Uh..."

"You look pretty shook..."

I was. Considering that I'd probably just seen a ghost... actually... I'm not entirely sure what I saw...

"I'm having trouble..." I started. It wasn't a ghost. Maybe it was my eye playing tricks on me? That doesn't explain what I heard. What the hell...?

"Having trouble...?"

Damn it...! Even the corpses seemed different, there was less of them... way less than I counted... and where was her bot?

"Uh..." Truth be told, I was a little afraid of what I was about to ask. "Didn't I see you take out Deathtrap..."

Her look said it all... I was going insane...

"No...? I only take him out for serious fights... A few bandits isn't that seriou- you keep avoiding my question."

"I... I'm sorry..." This was rather alarming... This was extremely alarming. "I'm having trouble..."

"Having trouble with what?" With her hands on her hips, she stepped closer.

I might as well... "Discerning what's exactly real..."

I didn't think she had a response to that... that was a hell of a bomb to drop onto her... or me for that matter...

"You're having... hallucinations?"

"I... I don't know." And that was the truth... what was real or not? I thought that guy was real; from the look of him to the smell of his cigar. The sounds of Deathtrap slashing away at those seemingly real bandits...

What... the... fuck...

"Hey..." I felt her hands close around my right one... It... felt warm as guided my hand toward her...

...

Chest... specifically, where her heart was supposed to be.

"Do I seem real to you?" Lord, honestly, I wanted to shout "I hope so!" Because at this point, I was ready to call it quits right here...!

...

Screw it, if I'm losing my mind... I might as well, right? "I hope..." Goddamnit, you couldn't even say it all the way, could you, Ezekiel?!

"You don't have to hope."

...

"I'm right here, Gearhead."

...

...

"My name is Ezekiel..."

* * *

 **End of Chapter**


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